The Lost Prince
by jade94
Summary: Nearly 21 years after their son's kidnapping, Uther and Ygraine believe that the second prince of Sarmatia is Arthur. Will he stay in Camelot or return to the only family and home he knows?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin but the Sarmatian characters I created and would appreciate it if no one took them as their own. Thank you and enjoy.

Chapter One

Uther had no idea that when he agreed to shelter a Dragon Keeper in his kingdom from Odin, that he would get an ally from across the sea in the mainland. The Keeper he had given shelter to turned out to be the Sarmatian king's nephew. Now said king was on his way to Camelot to finalize peace talks. Along with the king were his three eldest children. It was Ygraine who talked him into agreeing with the nephew about peace talks. "It would be good for Camelot," she had said. "An ally across the sea." She was currently haggling with the servants getting the castle ready for their royal visitors. Over the years, Queen Ygraine was slowly coming out of her depression of losing Arthur. The birth of their daughter, Anna, twelve years ago helped a whole lot. It was good to see her smile again.

Ygraine found her husband on a turret staring out into the horizon. He had grown quiet over the last few days and she knew why. The end of the week brought them Arthur's birthday and not just any birthday. His twenty first, meaning he would've been crowned Prince of Camelot. Search parties were still sent out in the hopes of finding the lost prince, but they always came back empty handed. Uther and Ygraine devote most of their time to Anna and their ward, Morgana. "Uther?" she called causing him to turn around. "Are you all right?" she asked. Uther let out a sigh before turning back to the horizon.

"He would've been crowned Prince of Camelot in three days," he said.

"I know," she said coming up beside him.

"So many years have gone by," he said. "We've missed so much in his life if he still lives."

"He does, my dear," Ygraine said. "Have faith in Nimueh's predictions," she added causing him to scoff.

"She's been predicting his return every year, Ygraine," he said. "And every year goes by with no results."

They stood there in silence. "I think I should stop the search parties altogether."

"Uther, do you think you should?" she asked. "Arthur could ..."

"Could be dead, Ygraine," Uther snapped causing her to gasp. "Twenty one years, Ygraine, without a sight of him or Juliana. We don't even know what he would look like if he did come to Camelot."

"I ..."

"I know that you still have hope of Arthur's return, but I have just learned to accept it. Whoever marries Anna will be the next King. Most likely it will be Lancelot." Ygraine groaned at the mentioned of the knight's name.

"He's ten years older than Anna," she said.

"She'll be of marrying age in three years, Ygraine," Uther said. "It will be her duty for Camelot. You can't expect me to be here all the time." The Queen sighed out again and looked to the horizon. A flash of red orange caught her sight and she saw the Sarmatian banner.

"Our guests have arrived," she said. "Time to be good hosts," she added.

Uther and Ygraine were walking down the halls and stairs to get to the courtyard. Servants made a path in the halls while they tried to the castle ready for a royal visit. "Oh, Gwen," Ygraine said spotting her Ward's handmaiden. She had put Gwen in charge of preparing the chambers for the Royal family. "The rooms?" she asked.

"They are prepared, my lady," she said curtseying to the Queen and King.

"Good," Ygraine said motioning to Gwen to keep up. Gwen kept the pace of the Queen staying behind her.

"Is the Princess in need of a handmaiden during her stay, Your Majesty?" she asked.

"No, she and the elder Prince are bringing attendants," Ygraine said. "Make sure they are taken care of as well."

"Of course, my lady," Gwen said. "What of the younger Prince? The second son?"

"Oh, I forgot about him," she said as they came to the courtyard. "Have, uh, Merlin?" Ygraine asked not sure of his name. At Gwen's nod, she continued, "meet you at the Prince's quarters. He'll do," she added.

"Yes, my lady," Gwen said and with a curtsey, she left to find Merlin. Ygraine joined Uther at the bottom of the steps next to Anna and Morgana.

"Where is Lancelot?" Uther asked noticing his knight's absence.

"He went hunting," Morgana said causing Uther to groan. If Lancelot wasn't such a good knight or the commander of the Knights, he would've gotten rid of him long ago. He was too good to get rid of. A lone horseman entered the courtyard and announced the Sarmatian king. No sooner had he announced it, King Dmitri rode in flanked by two Sarmatian knights.

"He's quite handsome," Ygraine said out loud.

"Yes, thank you, my dear," Uther said sarcastically causing Anna and Morgana to chuckle.

Indeed he was handsome. For a man in his sixties. Thinning brown hair without a touch of gray. The same couldn't be said for his beard which had just a hint of the salt gray in it. He had deep blue eyes that seemed to shine like sapphires. He was dressed in his country's warm colors of red, orange and gold. A Camelot servant approached and held the reins and Dmitri dismounted his white stallion.

"Welcome to Camelot, King Dmitri," Uther said holding out his hand.

"It's a pleasure to be here," Dmitri said shaking Uther's hand. "I've heard so much about it from my nephew."

"And how is Trisian?" Uther asked.

"He is well, but apologizes for not being here," Dmitri said. "His children have grown sick with a Sarmatian childhood malady and stayed to care for them."

"Family first,"Uther said causing Dmitri to nod. "Speaking of family, my wife, Ygraine," he said.

"Your Majesty," Ygraine said offering her hand to him.

"My lady," Dmitri said taking her offered hand and kissed it. "My nephew spoke highly of your beauty, Queen Ygraine."

"Now I see where he gets his charm from."

"Well he certainly didn't get it from his father, my brother." Uther and Ygraine chuckled as a second party arrived in the courtyard. These were the king's children. As Ygraine introduced Anna and Morgana, Uther observed the three children.

The first was Prince Jasper, the Crowned Prince and heir to the throne. He was a spitting image of his father, minus the gray hair. His black hair fell just in front of his face to his chin which was graced with a beard much more thick than his father's. His brown eyes, from his mother, were warm and inviting. He too was dressed in his country's colors. He dismounted from his black stallion and stretched with a groan.

"Morgana, you're staring," twelve year old Anna said.

"He's handsome," she said. "I can't help it."

Next was the Princess Anastasia, the Crowned Princess of Sarmatia. She inherited her mother's looks without a doubt. Her lightly tanned skin went well with her red curls which were pinned up with jewels and a small crown of golden flowers. Her eyes matched that of her father's, blue as sapphires. She wore a rust orange traveling gown and a matching wrap around her shoulders. Jasper helped his sister down from her gray speckled mare and she craned her neck.

However, it was the second son, the Prince Royal, Artorius, that drew Uther's attention. The moment he came into view he could see nothing in looks similar to his siblings. His blonde hair shined in what sun peeked through the clouds. If Uther didn't know any better, he would say he saw more of Ygraine in the young Prince's face which was devoid of any facial hair. In truth, the only feature he shared with either siblings were a matching pair of blue eyes with his sister. He climbed off his brown mare and helped Anastasia's maid, Ezra, off her's.

"I present to you my children," Dmitri said and the three lined up to be introduced. "My eldest, Jasper."

"Your Majesties," he said bowing and Uther and Ygraine nodded their heads to him.

"My daughter, Anastasia," Dmitri introduced. She curtseyed to them before offering her hand to Uther.

"My lady," he said before kissing it.

"Anya, my lord," she corrected. As she moved down the line, Uther and Ygraine seemed shocked when the younger Prince, Artorius, came into view.

"And my second son, Artorius," Dmitri said. The young Prince bowed before the two royals.

"Your Majesties," he said. When he straightened, he noticed the two staring at him and looked to his father.

"Uther? Are you all right?" Dmitri asked getting Uther out of his stupor.

"Oh, yes, forgive me," he said shaking his head. "You seem to be familiar to me somehow. Have we met before?"

"No, this is my first time in Camelot, my lord," Artorius said. Jasper paid no attention. He was busy getting acquainted with Morgana.

"I am Lady Morgana," she said curtseying. "Uther's ward," she added presenting her hand to the handsome Prince.

"My lady," he said taking her hand and kissing it.

"Morgana," she insisted.

"Then you may call me Jasper," he said reluctantly letting go of her hand. The interaction did not go unnoticed by Anya and Artorius. They watched their brother with the Lady Morgana before looking at each other and shrugging. Jasper was a resident bachelor back in Sarmatia and had yet to find a bride. Perhaps he had to come to a foreign country to find her.

"Well, why don't we get you all settled into the castle?" Ygraine suggested. "You've traveled a long way," she added.

"Of course," Dmitri said. Servants were deployed to get trunks unpacked from carriages as the Uraeuses were led into the castle.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Jasper was searching through his one trunk for a blanket as his manservant, Sasha, was unpacking another.

"The Lady Morgana is quite beautiful," Sasha said.

"Yes, she is," Jasper agreed. "I don't think I've seen anyone more beautiful." Sasha chuckled.

"Shall I lay out your weapons?" he asked.

"Just air out my Keeper attire," Jasper said pulling a blanket from his trunk. He walked behind the curtain separating his bed from the lounge area. As he laid out the blanket onto the bed, he heard Sasha greet Morgana.

"Lady Morgana," Sasha said bowing.

"Hello," Morgana said. "Is the Prince here?" she asked. Not allowing Sasha to answer, Jasper came from behind the curtain. "Oh, hello, Jasper."

"Morgana." Sasha looked between his master and the lady before clearing his throat.

"Is there anything else, Sire?" he asked.

"No, you may go," Jasper said. "Get something to eat, too."

"Thank you, Sire," he said bowing to Jasper. "Milady," he said bowing to Morgana before leaving the room.

"I came here to make sure you were comfortable."

"That's very kind of you," he said.

"So, Dragon Breeders."

"Going on three hundred years now."

"That's a long time," she said as he pulled another blanket from the trunk. "Oh, what beautiful stitching," she commented.

"My mother's handiwork," he said. "She made it for my thirtieth birthday."

"You're thirty?" she asked.

"Thirty two, actually," he said and she chuckled. "Uh, I was wondering if I could sit next to you at dinner."

"I would like that very much," she said.

"Good, then I'll see you there," he said. She smiled before curtseying to him and left. Jasper let out a contented sigh before finishing his unpacking.

Artorius groaned pulling off his cloak, laying it over a chair and sitting down in said chair. He sat down pinching the bridge of his nose then rolled his neck around. He heard feet scuffling and he stood up and turned at the sound. The young woman who entered his room caused him to freeze and stare at her. She was followed by a young man with a red scarf around his neck. She curtseyed and he bowed to him before she cleared her throat. "Your Highness," she said. "I present .." The woman trailed when she noticed he was staring at her. "My lord?" she asked. Artorius shook his head to get out of the deja vu and cleared his throat.

"Sorry," he apologized. "You were saying?"

"Uh, I present Merlin, Sire," she said. "He'll be looking after you for the duration of your stay."

"I will?" Merlin asked her causing her to glare at him and he looked at his feet. "Sorry."

"Um, thank you," Artorius said.

"Well, the Queen realized that your servant wasn't with you and she just figured that .."

"Gwen, you're rambling," Merlin said causing her to stop. Artorius chuckled as her cheeks grew red.

"Gwen?" he asked.

"It's short for Guinevere," she explained.

"Guinevere," she heard him mutter and she cleared her throat.

"Is there anything else you need?" she asked.

"Uh, no, thank you, Guinevere," he said. She curtseyed and headed out the door. Artorius watched her leave and his gaze lingered on her as she walked down the hall causing Merlin to groan a bit. He hated visiting dignitaries who looked at Gwen like a side dish.

"Sire?" he called but Artorius was still staring down the hall and he waved a hand in front of the Prince's face. "Whoo-hoo," he singsonged.

"Oh, sorry," he said looking to his temporary servant. "Did you say something?"

"Just trying to get your attention off my friend," Merlin said.

"I didn't mean to stare," he said. "She just looks like someone I knew back in Sarmatia."

"Oh, well, okay," Merlin said. "Shall I start unpacking?"

"Might as well since I'm going to be here a while." Merlin chuckled as he and Artorius opened the trunks. "You seemed surprised that you were going to be my servant for my stay."

"More relieved actually," Merlin said taking some clothes out of the wardrobe. "Might even be fun after the last few weeks I had." He opened the wardrobe and carefully placed the clothes into it.

"How so?" Artorius asked pulling two blankets from the trunk he was unpacking.

"Sir Lancelot, the commander of the Knights, has been treating me as if I was his personal manservant."

"I take it you're not," Artorius said.

"Nope," he said pulling out some black and dark blue clothing with the Sarmatian emblem on it.

"Oh, that's my Keeper attire," Artorius said. "You can just hang that somewhere and air it out." Merlin hung it up and went back to the trunk. "Actually, do you think you can get me some water to wash up for dinner?" he asked.

"Sure, no problem, Sire," Merlin said and bowed before leaving the room. Artorius sighed out as he sat down and put his head back.

"Guinevere," he whispered. "What a beautiful name," he said.

In Anya's room, Ezra was checking the bath water for her mistress' bath. Anya was at her trunk searching through it. "Ez, did you pack my bath oils?" she asked.

"I'm certain I did, milady," she said coming out from behind the screen. "Why don't you get undressed. I will look for them," she said. Anya went behind the screen and began to remove her hair pins. "Your Majesty," she heard Ezra say and she walked out to see Ygraine standing in the foyer of her room. Her daughter, Anna, stood next to her.

"Your Majesty," she said nodding her head. "You must be Anna," she said. The twelve year old nodded. "My cousin, Trisian, talked a lot about you." Anna smiled. "In fact, he even gave me something to give to you," Anya said. "Would you like it now?"

"Oh, yes, please," Anna said. Anya walked over to a small case and opened it. As she searched, a triumphant shout came from Ezra. She looked over to see her bath oils in her maid's hands.

"I knew I packed them, milady," she said before heading to the bath behind the screen. Anya found the pouch Trisian gave her and gestured to Anna to come over. She sat on a chair as the little Princess came forward.

"He made this himself," she said handing her the red velvet pouch. Anna untied it and dumped the contents into her hand. A black crystal on a gold chain landed on it and she gasped.

"I love it," she said. Ygraine chuckled as Anya took the necklace from Anna's hand and put it around her head so she could wear it.

"It's from one of our caves in our mountains," she said.

"Thank you," Anna said putting her arms around Anya and gave her a hug.

"You're welcome," Anya said and then Anna left the room skipping. Anya stood as Ygraine remained in the room.

"I wanted to make sure your quarters weren't too small," the Queen said.

"Actually, they're quiet spacious compared to my rooms in Tesin," she said.

"I just came back from the Court and it seems your brothers have grown a few fans already," Ygraine said causing Anya to chuckle.

"It happens everywhere we go," she said walking over to the screen.

"Well, now that your settled, I'll leave you to your bath." Anya curtseyed before Ygraine left the room.

"Let's get this off you, milady," Ezra said untying the gown.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: This chapter is a little bit longer than the others. It also has Lancelot bashing, so if you like Lancelot, don't read this.

Chapter Three

Routine was everything to Lancelot. So when Merlin wasn't in the courtyard when he and Percival arrived back from their hunting trip, he was livid. To say the least. "Merlin!" he bellowed causing some knights he didn't know to turn and look at him. The gangly assistant and apprentice of Gaius was usually prompt when he bellowed. However he was nowhere in sight. "Where the devil is he?"

"Hey, Lancelot, he's not your servant," Percival said as they dismounted their horses. "He's Gaius' assistant and apprentice."

"So?"

"So, he'll be learning medicine and magic," Percival said. "He's not really a servant anyway. His father is the King's adviser and Camelot's Dragonlord."

"Who are all these people?" Lancelot asked handing the day's kill to a servant.

"I don't know," Percival said.

"You! Girl!" the dark haired knight bellowed again causing a servant girl to stop in her tracks. "What's going on?" he asked.

"The royals from Sarmatia are here, my lord," she said causing Lancelot to groan turning away. She took the opportunity to get away from him. All servants were intimidated by Lancelot.

"Oh, that moron," he said. "He never told me that the Sarmations were coming today."

"He told you that they were coming Thursday. Today is Thursday," Percival said. "It's not his fault you forgot."

"He still should've reminded me," Lancelot said as they entered the castle.

"Lance, he's not your servant," his friend reminded him again. "Only the King and Queen can assign you someone and since you are not a Prince, then you don't get one." Lancelot grumbled as they turned down a hallway. For the last ten years, he's been working his way up the ranks in the castle. His father was commander of the knights and Lancelot passed into knighthood with ease. Now he's commander and the best knight in Camelot. He liked to think he was like a replacement for the abducted Prince Arthur. Only the people believed that one day their Prince would return. Lancelot seemed to be the only person who hoped Arthur would stay lost. He had plans to become King of Camelot. Right now he was Uther's favorite and best knight. If his luck held out, when Anna became of marrying age, Lancelot would be permitted to marry her and thus his road to being King would be easier.

"They're probably in the dining hall for supper," he said. "I better wash up." No one seemed to realize that Lancelot hated all things magic. It was magic that killed his family nearly five years ago. Those five years he watched as King Uther and Queen Ygraine allowed their court to be overrun by witches and warlocks. Their Court Physician was a warlock, teaching Merlin how to control his magic and their Court Sorceress was one of the Queen's ladies in waiting. Now they were in peace talks with Dragon breeders.

Upon entering the dining hall, he saw everyone was seated and well into the food. They had yet to notice him so he stayed in the shadows to observe the newcomers. Uther sat at the head of the table and Ygraine sat on his left. To his right sat an unfamiliar face he believed to be the Sarmatian King. Next to him sat a beautiful foreign beauty in a deep purple gown. Across from her sat Morgana who's attention was directed to the dark haired Prince sitting next to her in his usual place. Anna was there sitting in between the Princess and another Prince who was fair haired. The only available seat was next to the dark haired one. It was then he decided to make his presence known and stepped out from the shadows. Uther saw him first. "Lancelot, there you are," he said. Lancelot stopped just at the end of the table and bowed.

"My lord and ladies," he said and it just hit him that everyone sitting at the table outranked him.

"How was your hunting trip? Productive?"

"Oh, yes, very much, Sire," Lancelot said.

"Good," Uther said. "Our guests for the next month, the Uraeus family from Sarmatia. King Dmitri." The knight bowed to the King who nodded. "His sons, Jasper and Artorius," Uther said.

"My lords," he said inclining his head into another bow.

"And his daughter, Anastasia," Uther said gesturing to Anya who offered her hand out of courtesy to the knight.

"A pleasure, my lady," he said before kissing it softly and a little too long for her liking. She immediately removed it from his lingering lips and turned back to her food. Jasper and Artorius hid their smirks behind their goblets, but Dmitri noticed and scolded them with a glare.

"Why don't you join us?" he asked the knight.

"Oh, thank you, Sire," Lancelot said before taking the seat next to Jasper. He sat across from Artorius who sat next to Anna. As a servant placed a plate of food in front of him, he noticed a necklace around the young Princess' neck. "Where did you get that necklace, Anna?" he asked.

"From Anya," she said. "It's a gift from Trisian."

"Our cousin," Anya said. "He made it for her."

"It's beautiful." Anna smiled before going back to her dinner. "So, Dragon breeders."

"Going on three hundred years now," Artorius said.

"Must be a dangerous occupation," he said.

"Only if you don't know what you're doing," Anya said.

"Or if you mistreat the dragon," Jasper added.

"So, you treat the dragon with respect then?" Lancelot asked.

"As if it were part of the family," Anya corrected. Lancelot chortled slightly but it didn't go unnoticed by the three siblings.

"They protect us in exchange for us protecting them when they are babies," Artorius said.

"Yeah, but you must have like a bad dragon once in a while," the knight said.

"Our dragons are noble. They provide us with protection after we've protect them," Anya said.

"The only time a dragon turns violent is if it's mistreated," Jasper said.

"We had a dragon attack Camelot not too long ago," Lancelot said. "Apparently it belonged to King Odin."

"We've been at war with Odin for the last two years," Uther said to Dmitri. Jasper, Artorius and Anya went back to their food as Lancelot started on his.

Dinner passed with few pleasantries. It seems that all three Sarmatian siblings didn't like him very much.

He wanted to make up for it. Lancelot asked Anya, once dinner was over, if he could escort her back to her room. "Thank you," she said. He offered her his arm and with an apologetic smile to the guard behind them, she looped hers around his and they left the dining hall with Ezra and the guard behind them. "So, how do you like Camelot so far, Your Highness?" he asked.

"It's livable," she said. "A little cold for my taste."

"I'll go and stoke the fire in your room, milady," Ezra said and walked ahead to the room.

"Thank you, Ezra," she said to the fleeting maid. Lancelot glanced back to see the guard behind them. His sharp green eyes watching his every move. "Don't mind Lucian," she said. "It's his job to be protective and intimidating."

"Bodyguards usually are," he said.

"That and he's my betrothed."

"Oh, congratulations," he said. "When is the happy day?" he asked.

"Winter Solstice in two months." They rounded a corner in silence.

"It's not arranged, is it?" he asked.

"No, Lucian and I are very much in love," she said. "Hence the daggers he's glaring at you."

"So, are you …?" he started to ask but he got interrupted by Anya.

"Is it a custom in Camelot to ask so many questions?" she asked.

"No, I meant no disrespect," he said.

"This is me," she said stopping altogether.

"Oh, well, have a nice night," he said. He kissed her hand and left with a bow. He turned around, heading back down the hall past Lucian. The two of them sized each other up before Lancelot disappeared around a corner.

"Lucian," Anya scolded. "Must you be so possessive?" she asked.

"I wasn't possessive," he said.

"Yes, you were," she said. Lucian sighed before walking up to her.

"He was eying you like a piece of meat," he said. "He's lucky I didn't castrate him."

"That's my job," she said smiling. She tapped her finger onto her cheek and he placed a small kiss onto it.

"Sweet dreams, my love," he said before bowing dramatically causing her to laugh as he headed back down the hall to his chambers. She sighed out at her betrothed before entering her chambers.

Artorius groaned as he pulled on his nightshirt. He sat on the bed to pull on some feet warmers (socks, not sure if they had those back then) as Merlin went around the room dousing the candles. "Your father asked me to let you sleep in a little tomorrow," Merlin said.

"Oh, good. I'm knackered," he said. He pulled the covers and shimmied into them before burrowing his head into the pillows. Merlin came up to the bed and put out the last candles hearing the prince sigh out.

"Is there anything else you...?" he started to ask.

"You may go home, Merlin," Artorius said from underneath the covers.

"Sleep well, Sire," he said.

"Uh-huh," grunted the prince causing Merlin to smile before leaving the room.

He was crossing the courtyard toward the upper town when he was caught by Lancelot. "There you are," the knight said.

"Is there something you need, Sir Lancelot?" he asked.

"Did you do your chores today?" he asked.

"The ones for Gaius, yes," Merlin said. "After that I was tending to Prince Artorius all day."

"Well, you have plenty of time to..."

"Sir Lancelot!" a voice called and he groaned knowing full well who that was. He turned to see Merlin's father, Lord Balinor, the King's advisor and Dragonlord coming up to him. "Merlin, your mother has supper for you at home," he said.

"Thanks, Father," Merlin said before hurrying through the courtyard gates to head home.

"I don't know how many times I have to tell you this, Lancelot, but my son is not your personal lackey," Balinor said. "He is Gaius' apprentice and under the tutelage of him and Lady Nimueh, he'll be Camelot's next Sorcerer."

"I..." he started to say, but Balinor cut him off.

"I bring a message from Uther," he said. "Behave yourself during the next month while the Sarmatians are here, otherwise you just might find yourself out of a job."

"He can't do that."

"He's the King. You'll find that he can," the Dragonlord said before walking away. Lancelot silently seethed as he tried to calm down. He couldn't wait until he was King so he could get rid of all the magic people.

Anya was pulling the covers back on her bed having sent Ezra away for the night. She was about to climb in when she heard insistent knocking on her door. She groaned as she grabbed her robe and threw it over her shoulders. "This had better be bloody important," she said hurrying to the door. "Who is it?" she demanded.

"Your brothers," came Jasper's voice.

"Open the door. It's freezing out in this hall," came Artorius' voice. Anya groaned as she unlocked the door and opened it. They immediately entered without her say so and she closed the door behind them locking it. She turned to see them in the bed.

"Your bed is bigger than ours," Jasper whined.

"Not fair," Artorius whined as well causing Anya to roll her eyes.

"I am the female guest," she said before climbing into the bed in between her brothers. It wasn't uncommon for the three of them to sleep in the same bed. When they were children, they slept in the same bed until they all had begun Keeper training. Then they got a room of their own. Old habits were hard to break though. "And I thought Franks country was cold."

"And this is _southern _Albion," Jasper commented causing them to laugh.

"I'm going to miss you, Anya," Artorius said.

"I know," she said. When she got married, she'll be sharing her bed with her husband, not her brothers.

"Maybe Lucian will let us sleep with you guys," Jasper said causing Anya to elbow her big brother in the gut. "Ugh, never mind."

"Lucian does not share," she said.

"Tell that to Sir Lancelot," Artorius said. "He was practically drooling over you."

"Creep," Anya muttered.

"That's what I thought," Jasper said.

"The Queen says you two have made several female fans in the Camelot court already," she said causing them to groan out. "Yet you managed to beg a seat next to the Lady Morgana," she said to Jasper.

"I have never seen anyone more beautiful in my entire life," Jasper said. "Her eyes are so green."

"Holy dragons, Jasper," Artorius said. "Are you in love?" he asked. "I've never heard you talk about anyone like that."

"I can't help it," Jasper said. "I may have crossed over," he added causing Artorius and Anya to laugh. "Laugh all you want, little brother. I know a look of someone distracted and you are it."

"I am not," he said getting into the covers more.

"What's her name?" Anya asked.

"Gwen, but it's short for Guinevere," he said.

"She's Morgana's maid," Anya said. "I caught a glimpse of her at dinner. The one in the lavender dress?"

"That's her."

"I couldn't help but notice that she looks an awful lot like …." Anya started to say.

"Yes, she does," Artorius cut her off. "You should see her up close. It's like she's haunting me from the grave."

"Maybe this is her telling you to move on," Jasper said. "It has been two years."

"She's a servant," Artorius said. "Father would never approve."

"You don't know that," Anya said. Artorius sighed as he turned around and blew out the candle.

"Can we just not talk about it?" he asked.

"Right, less talking and more sleeping," Anya said getting under the covers.

"Yes, Mum," chorused the boys. "Ugh!" cried out both when Anya elbowed them in the gut.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Before the sun had begun to rise up over the hills, Artorius and Jasper woke up and hurried back to their own chambers. With the sun came the promise of a rare warm day during the harvest. Around late morning, Merlin carried a tray of brunch to Artorius' chambers. He had eggs, sausage and some fruits prepared. Coming to the door, he knocked twice before entering. Artorius was still in bed. Merlin put the tray on the table and carefully made his way to the sleeping prince. He started lowering his hand to shake the prince awake when … "Morning Merlin," Artorius said causing him to pull his hand back. "I heard you come in."

"Oh," Merlin said as Artorius sat up with a groan.

"Is it late morning already?" he asked.

"Around brunch time," Merlin said.

"Didn't seem like it," he said getting up yawning. He looked out the window and smiled seeing the sun. "Sun's out."

"Yeah, every now and then it pops out during harvest time." He was walking around the room looking for anything to pick up. "Uh, anything going on today?" he asked.

"Well, my father is going to be with King Uther all day," the prince said pulling a grape off the vine. "Jasper and I were planning to spar a bit with our knights. Keep them on their toes." Merlin nodded putting the clothes he picked up off the floor and put them in a basket. Artorius finished his brunch quickly before grabbing some workout clothes from the wardrobe. Merlin put the tray back together and grabbed it and the basket of clothes before turning to Artorius who disappeared behind the dressing screen.

"I'll be right back, Sire," Merlin said.

"Merlin, you don't need to follow me around all day," Artorius said.

"I know, it's just that Lancelot was told off by my father last night about making me his personal servant and well, he's trying to get me while my father's in Council."

"Oh, okay," Artorius said.

"I'll see you in a little while then," Merlin said before walking out the room.

Anya groaned feeling the sun hit her face when Ezra pulled the curtains open. "Good morning, milady," she said.

"Morning," she said getting out of the warm bed. She was not looking forward to spending the day with the ladies of the court sewing and knitting and gossiping. She'd rather be out in the training field with her brothers. However, she promised her father she would give Camelot's ladies a chance.

Which gown would you like to wear today, milady?" Ezra asked.

"Let's go with the dark blue one today," she said going behind the screen. Ezra nodded and went over to the wardrobe to get out the dress her lady wanted. Anya went over to her table to eat the food Ezra had brought in for her. "Beautiful day out," she commented.

"Gorgeous," Ezra said hanging the dress over the dressing screen. Once Anya was finished with the food, she went over to change.

"Pity I'll be inside with Morgana and her friends." Ezra sighed out for her lady as she cleaned up the food tray.

Lancelot watched as Artorius walked down the steps into the courtyard with Merlin after him carrying two swords. He stepped forward when the prince and sorcerer apprentice drew close. "Excuse me, Your Highness, but I need to borrow Merlin today." Merlin groaned, rolling his eyes.

"Here we go again," he muttered which Artorius heard.

"Oh, does Gaius need him for something?" he asked the knight.

"No, the stables need muck out."

"Then, no. You can't borrow him," Artorius said. Merlin smirked softly, but Lancelot saw it.

"It's one of his daily chores that he must perform," he said to Artorius.

"Unless I'm mistaken, mucking out stables seems more like a stable boy's job rather than a future physician and sorcerer," Artorius said. "Wouldn't you say so, Sir Lancelot?" he asked.

"Yes, but ..."

"Plus..." Artorius said interrupting Lancelot, " I think the King and Queen wouldn't like it if they found out you deprived their guest of his servant." Lancelot bit the inside of his cheek. "Get yourself another lackey for the next month," the prince ordered. "Come on, Merlin." Artorius hurried past Lancelot with Merlin in tow. "What a pip," he said causing Merlin to chuckle. "I can see why you call him, Prat-a-lot."

A space was set aside for the Sarmatian knights and the princes. Jasper was leaning against a table watching Lucian sparring with a younger knight when his brother and temp servant came up to him. "What's with you?" he asked seeing his brother's scowl.

"Lancelot tried to steal Merlin from me," he said as Merlin put the swords on the table. Artorius showed him how to strap them on him.

"I was talking with one of the more experienced knights, Sir Leon," Jasper said. "All the knights hate Lancelot except for one, Percy. He's the red haired chap over there," he said pointing to the ginger haired knight. "Apparently they grew up together," he said. "All Lancelot does is order servants around. They're all afraid of him even though the Queen's told them they can go to her with a problem."

"How did he become leader of the knights anyway?" Artorius asked.

"His father," Merlin said. The two princes looked at the sorcerer. "Sir Ector was one of our best knights and a friend of the King's. It was his wish that his son take his place, but Lancelot was too young when Ector was killed, so Uther helped him into knighthood and when he deemed Lancelot was okay, he made him leader of the knights. That was five years ago."

"Who's normally the leader of the knights?" Jasper asked.

"The Crowned Prince, but we don't have one," he said. "He was kidnapped years ago. He's still missing."

"Oh, Jasper, this is Merlin," Artorius said forgetting that they hadn't met. "Merlin, my brother Jasper."

"Pleasure, Merlin," Jasper said holding out his hand to shake Merlin's. A little hesitant, Merlin nervously shook Jasper's hand. "You're Gaius' assistant, right?"

"I am," he said. "Though I'm more of an apprentice to hone my magic. I could be the Court Sorcerer."

"Then why are Earth are you working?" he asked.

"My mother thought it would be good for me," Merlin said. "My father is Balinor."

"Oh, the Dragonlord," Artorius said. "We heard bits of a story how he saved Camelot from a rogue dragon," he said.

"He's the kingdom's hero," Merlin said with a proud smile on his face. A grunt caused them to look up from their conversation and saw Lucian had taken down the young knight.

"Come on, Dag," he said. "I was wide open on my blind side," he said.

"I..." Dag started to say.

"You had a clean shot."

"But the Princess, my lord," Dag protested.

"What about her?"

"I wouldn't want to face her wrath if I were to injure her future husband," the knight said causing the others to chuckle. Jasper and Artorius chuckled behind their fists. Ever since Lucian and Anya got engaged, the other knights had been holding back in sparring sessions with him. Lucian sighed as he helped the younger knight to his feet.

"What she doesn't know can't hurt her," he said. "You must not hesitate to strike when you see an opening. Especially against marauders."

"Yes, my lord," Dag said going back to the other knights as Lucian yelled for his next victim.

"Where is Anya?" Artorius asked.

"She promised father she'd spend some time with Morgana and the courtiers."

Up in the castle in the Queen's parlor, Anya was sitting with Morgana , Anna and two ladies from the court, Lady Bess and Lady Mary. They were sewing, embroidering as Morgana played cards with Anna. She was making arrows. It caused quiet a stir in the room when Anya asked Ezra to get the supplies she needed to do her task. She didn't say she would sew and knit like the others did to her father. She promised she would sit with them. Ezra helped her lady roll up her sleeves on her navy blue dress and rolled up her own before helping Anya. "You make arrows?" Bess asked, looking at the feathers and glue with disdain.

"Someone has to," Anya said clipping off the twine and placing the finished arrow aside to let it dry. "Certainly not going to be my brothers," she said.

"Lazy?" Morgana asked causing Anya to chuckle.

"Any given day, they'll go rushing out to retrieve a baby dragon or eggs, but when it comes to maintenance on the weapons, they'll suddenly become tired and disappear from sight."

"They make you do it?" Anna asked.

"Only if they don't want me to beat them in a sparring session," Anya said attaching some feathers with glue.

"You fight as well?" Mary Ann asked.

"Of course, I do," she said. "I'm a Keeper just like Jasper and Artorius."

"Keeper?" Morgana asked.

"We retrieve and protect stolen eggs and baby dragons," Anya said. "I am the first female Keeper in over a century."

"You seem a bit proud of yourself," Morgana said.

"They told me I couldn't be a Keeper because I was a girl," she said. "I proved to them they were wrong. I was fourteen by the time I reached the tenth level."

"Out of how many?" Anna asked.

"Ten," Anya said. "I finished earlier than most in my class." Another arrow finished and joined the others in the pile.

"Your brothers are quiet handsome," Mary Ann said.

"So everyone tells me," Anya said. "Don't tell them that though. Their heads are big enough as it is," she said causing them all to chuckle.

"Are they promised to anyone back in Sarmatia?"

"We don't do that in Sarmatia," Anya said. "Jasper has been a bachelor all his life and Artorius," she said trailing. "He was going to get married this past summer, but ..."

"But what?" Morgana asked.

"The gods apparently had other plans for him," she said and remained silent after. Anna looked over to see Bess was being very quiet.

"You're awfully quiet over there Lady Bess," she said.

"It's not right," she said.

"What?" Anya asked.

"Women fighting," Bess said. "A woman's place is not on the battlefield. She belongs in the castle."

"And who do you think is left to defend the castle after all the men are dead on the battlefield?" Anya asked.

"If all the men are dead, then the women should just give up."

"So they can be slaves to their conquerors and continue with their sewing and embroidery?" Anya asked. Morgana could tell she getting angry at Bess' disrespect for her homeland. "That is not the Sarmatian way."

"And what is the Sarmatian way?" Bess asked rather snobbishly causing Morgana to roll her eyes.

"Fight to the death," Anya said.

"Well, what do you expect from a bunch of pagans."

"Pagans?" Anya asked.

"Or whatever you call your unholy ways."

"Bess," Morgana warned.

"What?"

"Paganism is a religion in my country, but so is Christianity as you call it here," Anya said. "In fact, every child in Sarmatia is baptized."

"I meant nothing by ..."

"You've insulted my religion and my upbringing, Lady Bess," Anya said unrolling her sleeves. "I guess I was wrong about people in this kingdom. My cousin obviously never met you when he was here." She stood up from her seat causing Ezra to stand as well. "You're lucky you didn't insult my homeland in front of my father. Your fingers would've been broken." Bess gasped out in distress.

"I beg your pardon," she said.

"I've tried this mingling thing, now if you'll excuse me, Lady Morgana, Princess Anna, I have better things to do and I've grown tired of present company, save for you." She left with out another word and then Princess Anna glared over at Bess.

"Well done," she said. "We're supposed to be friends with them, Bess," she added.

"But I .."

"She's right," Mary Ann said. "You should not have insulted her like that."

"I would avoid her for the rest of the day," Morgana said.

"Maybe for the whole trip," Anna suggested before putting her cards down and leaving the room. Now there were two people mad at Lady Bess.


	5. Chapter 5

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Merlin, but the Sarmatian characters are mine. Do not steal them.

Chapter Five

"Uh-oh," Jasper said seeing Anya walking over in trousers and a tunic with Ezra behind her. "Not good," he said.

"What?" Merlin asked turning to see what the older prince was looking at and saw the princess.

"Anya's mad at someone," Artorius said before turning to Jasper. "Odds or evens?" he asked holding up his fist. Time to draw lots at who she pummeled into the ground.

"Evens," Jasper said, but before they could see who was the lucky one, Anya spoke up.

"Artorius, front and center."

"Huh? No, it's not my turn," he protested causing Anya to sigh as she unsheathed her sword.

"You were retrieving the last time someone pissed me off," she said. Artorius groaned as he pulled out his sword and crept into the training circle.

"I don't get it," Merlin said to Ezra.

"The princess fights one of her brothers when someone makes her mad so she doesn't have to kill them instead."

"Oh, makes sense," Merlin said.

"You're welcome."

"Are you ready?" Anya asked warming up.

"Do I have a choice?" he asked.

"Not really," she said before swinging at him from the right.

"Holy ..." His words were lost among the clanging of the swords as his sister attacked him relentlessly. "Ease up, sis," he said as he block an low attack.

"Ease up?" she asked.

"Bad advice, bro," Jasper said. Anya rolled her sword to swing Artorius' around, disarming him and then tripped him onto the ground.

"Uncle! Uncle!" Artorius shouted.

"I have never been so insulted in all my life," she said. She put away her swords away as Lucian came up beside her.

"Who insulted you, love?" he asked.

"Lady Bess, one of the pompous courtiers," Anya said. "She sneered at the thought of women fighting and called our way of life unholy."

"Oh, so we're the barbarians?" Jasper asked. "She's a spoiled lady, Anya." Artorius groaned as he got up from the ground.

"She's probably never had to work one day in her entire life," he added. Lucian put his arm around Anya's shoulders and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Don't let her get to you, love," he said.

"I'll try." A horse neighing caught their attention and Lucian stepped in front of the royals as a man on foot walked up to them pulling along a horse.

"Sir Lucian," he said.

"Dugan," Lucian said. "What news?"

"I found a missing egg, my lord," he said causing the three royal siblings to step forward.

"Where?" Jasper asked.

"Here in Camelot, but I'm afraid that's all I know," Dugan said. Artorius noticed the body slung over the horse.

"Who's your friend?" he asked.

"Ah," Dugan said. "The thief," he said.

"Oh, we don't usually get the thief. Well done, Dugan," Jasper said. "Let's take him to father, shall we?" he asked.

Interrupting a council meeting was unheard of in Camelot. However, a missing egg, possible hatchling, took precedence over everything else as Dmitri explained to Uther. Everyone was now in the throne room, the thief on the floor whimpering. Uther sitting on his throne silent wanting to see how the Sarmatians plan to get the thief to talk. "Where's the egg?" the Dmitri asked standing over the thief.

"The egg?" the thief asked. "Don't you mean hatchling?"

"What?" Jasper asked.

"It hatched?" Anya asked.

"Right before I could sell it, but the man was even happier to see the hatchling."

"Who did you sell it too?" Dmitri asked. The thief shook his head violently, chanting 'no' over and over again. "Now, now," the Sarmatian king said. "You know better than to pull that stunt with me. Tell me who has the hatchling or one of my children will interrogate you." The thief swallowed nervously glancing over at the royal trio standing off to the side. Ygraine looked closer at Artorius as he stood there with his sister and brother. The way he stood seemed to tell her something as Dmitri gestured to Anya. "Anya, the cracker, please," he said. The thief gasped as Anya pulled out what looked like a nut cracker from her boot. "All of my children are formidable interrogators," Dmitri said to Uther as Anya approached the thief. "It's Anya, however, that's the most feared of the three."

"Oh, really?" Uther asked.

"Her reputation is well known among the thieves."

"Please, milady," the thief pleaded as Anya grabbed his hand.

"Who did you sell the hatchling to?" she asked putting a finger into the hole in the torture device.

"I don't know his name," the thief said. Anya closed the cracker a bit more causing him to whimper. "He's a tyrant. A warlord up in the mountains."

"What does he look like?" Artorius asked.

"Big, bald with a beard and disgusting," the thief said. "He already had some pets."

"What kind?" Jasper asked. The thief hesitated causing Anya to start chopping his finger off.

"No! They were giant rats, but they seemed to be blind!" he shouted as blood dripped onto the floor.

"Sounds like Hengist," Lancelot said. "I know the area up there."

"You can be a guide," Jasper said standing up as Anya withdrew from the thief who let out a sigh of relief.

"Good boy," she said patting his head.

"What are you three waiting for?" Dmitri asked. "Go get our hatchling back," he said causing the three of them to run out of the throne room to prepare. "You too," Dmitri said to Lancelot. "They can't get around without their guide."

"Of course, Sire," Lancelot said and hurried to prepare.

Merlin was pulled to the stabled by Sasha to get the horses ready for the siblings. Sasha said that the servants don't help with the Keeper attire. Artorius was pulled on his dark hooded tunic and stepped from behind the screen. A familiar face stood in the foyer. "Guinevere," he said.

"Sire," she said curtseying. "I was wondering if you needed any help with anything."

"I'm good," he said. She looked him over and saw that he had applied dark eye make up across his eye area going from ear to ear.

"I wanted to wish you luck in your mission," she said. "Hengist is a very dangerous man."

"Thank you," he said. "I'll keep that in mind."

"I had, uh, hoped that I could give you something," she said. "A token." She pulled out a white handkerchief from a pouch.

"That's very thoughtful of you," he said. "Could you tie it around my wrist for me?" he asked holding out his right arm.

"Certainly, my lord," she said and went over and tied her token around his wrist. She then helped him put the arm guard over on top of it. "Have a safe journey, my lord."

"I will, thanks to your token, Guinevere," he said. He stood there a moment before bending down and placing a kiss on her cheek. "I'll return and maybe we could talk."

"Maybe, okay," she said knowing there was a small blush creeping on her face. He smiled at her blush before leaving the room. "Okay, Gwen. Now what?"

Anya was walking quickly down the hall with Ezra not too far behind her. "Make sure the fire's stoked my room. I want it plenty warm when we come back," she said pulling on a glove. "Blankets, lots of blankets as well," she added pulling on the other one.

"Of course, milady," Ezra said. "I'll have some warm milk prepared to warm the hatchling from the inside."

"Good, good," Anya said. She was in Keeper mode, all three of them. Jasper and Artorius were mounting their horses when she came out. Ezra handed her her sword before hurrying back into the castle to get the things ready for the baby dragon. Swinging her sword on, Anya mounted her horse with ease and she looked around and noticed something was off. "Where's our guide?" she asked.

"Lancelot!" Jasper shouted. Lancelot came out of the stable, leading his horse, who seemed to be in a bad mood. The horse walked around as Lancelot tried to put his foot in the stirrup. The three royal siblings looked at each other before looking at their father.

"Steady," he warned. If looks could kill, Lancelot would be dead, three times over. He finally got onto his horse and looked over at the three siblings.

"Ready?" he asked.

"For the last three minutes," Anya said before taking off with her brothers behind her. Lancelot hurried to meet up with them. After a few minutes, Dmitri sent three bodyguards, including Lucian, after the Keeper and their guide.

"My children believe they do not need bodyguards on missions, but I send them anyway," he said to Uther causing him to chuckle.

"Any parent is overprotective," he said. "So, now what?" he asked.

"We wait," Dmitri said, "and that's the hard part." Ygraine suddenly grabbed her skirts and headed back into the castle. She walked fast without stopping until she reached her destination; Nimueh's quarters. This was just the break she needed. With Artorius out of the castle, she can have her friend scry for Arthur. The Court's Sorceress was mixing potions when the Queen entered.

"Your Majesty," Nimueh said getting ready to bow, but Ygraine waved her off.

"Nimueh, I need you to do something for me."

"Anything, milady," the witch said.

Gaius sighed as Nimueh, pulled out the map of Albion. "I supposed I don't have to tell you that this is pointless," he said with his arms crossed.

"I know," she said, "but the Queen is insistent," she said.

"But to think this visiting prince is Arthur, is absurd."

"Have you seen Prince Artorius?" she asked. "He's the spitting image of Ygraine and Uther."

"Really?" he asked as she got her crystal out.

"It's like he's a mix of the two. He has Ygraine's hair, nose, smile and Uther's eyes and face. It's incredible."

"I haven't had the pleasure of meeting Artorius yet," Gaius said. "I'll have to introduce myself when he returns."

"Okay, here we go," Nimueh said before holding out the crystal and began twirling it above the map. She whispered a spell before lowering the crystal onto the map. Unlike before when it would just continue to spin, it began to slow down and then it suddenly snapped to the map. "Oh, my God," she said.

"Holy ..." Gaius started to say. Every few minutes, the crystal would move across the map as if the person it was tracking was traveling.

"Where is Prince Artorius?" she asked.

"He and his siblings just went to retrieve a hatchling."

"Does this mean what I think it means?" she asked.

"Queen Ygraine was right," he said. "Prince Arthur has been found."

Dmitri stood there in the Council hall taking in what was said to him. "You are certain of this?" he asked.

His second son was Uther and Ygraine's first born, Prince Arthur.

"Nimueh has served this court for many years," Uther said. "We would never doubt her," he said causing Ygraine to give her husband a look.

"We had always wondered who were Artorius' birth parents," Dmitri said.

"He's not truly yours?" Ygraine asked.

"No, my wife, Sabina, found him floating in the river when he was just a babe," he said. "His mother, Juliana, sent him to safety when her caravan was attacked by marauders."

"Juliana?" Uther asked.

"Do you know her?"

"We know of a Juliana, but I'm not sure if it's the same person," Uther said.

"She was my nursemaid for Arthur when he was born," Ygraine said. "She kidnapped him."

"The Juliana I know left Sarmatia nearly twenty five years ago. She had mentioned coming to Albion, but I never knew what happened to her."

"She lost a husband and her infant son to plague while she was here," Ygraine said. "I had asked her to be Arthur's nursemaid not really knowing the extent of her well being."

"Our physician, Gaius, believed that she suffered from depression from her husband and son's deaths," Uther said. "Ygraine suffered from a fever shortly after giving birth to Arthur. Juliana cared for him while she recuperated from the fever, being that I was quarantined myself, and when I went to get Arthur for Ygraine to see once she was well, both Arthur and Juliana were gone."

"Does Artorius know he's not your birth son?" Ygraine asked.

"We told him after he finished his Keeper training," Dmitri said. "I'm not sure how well he's going to take this news. Sarmatian law is all he knows. We brought him up as one of our own."

"We'll do anything to help him adjust," Ygraine said.

"As long as he doesn't have any prior commitments over in Sarmatia," Uther said. "I wouldn't want the wrong woman married to my son."

"Uther!" Ygraine scolded. "We're not going to start this up now."

"Artorius isn't betrothed to anyone," Dmitri said. "And if he was, as his parents, you would accept his choice and not worry about blood or breeding."

"Uther's just stuck in the old ways," Ygraine said.

"Princes should marry women of noble birth, not commoners," Uther said.

"Uther!" she scolded him again.

"Marriage may be far from Artorius' mind at the moment," Dmitri said. "He was attached to a woman in Sarmatian and they were going to get married last summer actually, but she was killed two winters ago in an ambush," he explained.

"Oh, my," Ygraine said.

"She was his bodyguard and she died protecting him," Dmitri said.

"Has he courted since her death?"

"He hasn't," Dmitri said.

"I would've thought you'd get him to pick another bride," Uther said.

"That is not how things work in Sarmatia," Dmitri said. "He still mourns the woman he loved. They courted for a year before making things official. Anya and Lucian courted and fell in love. Marriages in Sarmatia aren't about binding yourself to another. It's about love." Just then a knock came upon the door and everyone looked up to see Gwen come into the room. Dmitri grew quiet at her presence as she bowed slightly and told them that the retrieval party was back.

"Thank you, Gwen," Ygraine said. She bowed before leaving the room. "Dmitri?" she asked seeing the king was still staring where Gwen was standing.

"Who was that?" he asked.

"That was my ward's maid," Uther said. "Why?"

"I thought I had seen a ghost," he said. "She bears a striking resemblance to Jasmina."

"Jasmina?" Ygraine asked.

"The woman Artorius loved back in Sarmatia," he explained. "The one who died saving his life."


	6. Chapter 6

DISCLAIMER : I do not own Merlin characters. Just the Sarmatian characters.

Chapter Six

The courtyard came to life as Artorius, Anya, Jasper and company arrived back from their mission. Anya immediately dismounted from her horse cradling something close to her. "Is it alive?" Dmitri asked.

"Just barely," she said hurrying inside, a blue green tail hanging out from the blankets she carried it in.

"Any damages?" the king asked Jasper.

"Just Artorius," he said helping Artorius from his horse.

"It's not so bad now," Artorius said. "Before there were four of you," he said. "Now there's only two."

"What happened?" Dmitri asked.

"He knocked a guy out with his head," Jasper said slinging his brother's arm around his shoulder.

"I miscalculated where to hit him," Artorius said. "Now I have a bump and a concussion," he said.

"Come on, Artorius," Jasper said leading him up the stairs. "Use your legs."

"I have legs?" Artorius asked as he picked up his feet as if he were drunk. Dmitri groaned extensively as Uther came out to see the excitement.

"I have good news, Your Majesty," Lancelot said.

"What good news?"

"Hengist will no longer be a problem," the knight said. "Jasper and Artorius said that they and Anya left him to the pets he mistreated."

"His men will be disorganized," Uther said.

"May take years for them to regroup."

"Good," Uther said. "Hengist has been a thorn in our side for years."

"I see," Dmitri said.

"He had attempted to kidnap my ward and daughter while on a pilgrimage to Morgana's father's grave."

"Worked out for all of us then," Dmitri said.

"Yes," Uther said as they headed back into the castle.

Gaius watched Artorius carefully as he sat at a table in his work room. "How hard did you hit him?" Gaius asked coming over to check his head for any wounds.

"Very hard," Artorius said. "Maybe a little too hard." Gaius chuckled as he cleaned a small wound before checking for concussion.

"Follow my finger, Your Highness," he said. Artorius did as he was asked and Gaius came to the conclusion he had a concussion. "I suppose I don't have to tell you that you should take it easy tonight."

"My siblings and I are going to be up all night with the baby dragon," Artorius said. "We'll be taking turns nursing it while the others sleep. Whoever is up can keep an eye on me too."

"Fair enough," Gaius said allowing the prince to stand up and leave the room.

It wasn't until later that evening when everything calmed down. No one had seen the three Sarmatian siblings since returning with the baby dragon. Morgana was walking down the hall with Gwen when she heard a squeal coming from Anya's guest chambers. "What was that?" she asked Gwen. Her maidservant shrugged her shoulders before following her lady into the princess' room. Another squeal had them turn to the fireplace and they gasped seeing the blue green baby dragon. Anya, Jasper and Artorius were fast asleep on the chairs and chaise. The baby dragon was on it's hind legs trying to get at the bottle that was in Anya's hand propped on the arm of the chaise. It was too high for the baby to reach. "So, you're what all the fuss is about," Morgana said causing the dragon to whip it's head around and let out a distressed bark. It lowered itself onto the floor as she came closer to it. "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you," she said getting on the floor herself. The baby dragon sniffed her out stretched hand in curiosity. Gwen maintained her distance, but noticed neither royal sibling had a blanket and crossed over to the bed to retrieve the blankets from it. As Morgana got the dragon to warm up to her, Gwen put a blanket on each Sarmatian. Morgana got the bottle from Anya's hand and the dragon began wagging it's tail in excitement. "All right, hang on," she said as the baby dragon climbed into her lap and latched into the bottle nipple.

"Is there anything else, milady?" Gwen asked.

"No, Gwen. You may go home," she said. Gwen curtseyed before leaving the room. Morgana smiled as the dragon drank hungrily from the bottle. "Take it easy, fella."

"It's a girl, actually," a voice said causing her to look up to see Artorius was up.

"It is?" she asked. Artorius nodded before looking around the room noticing that Gwen was not around. As if reading his thoughts, Morgana answered his question. "I sent her home."

"Who?" he asked turning to look at her.

"Gwen," Morgana said. "I sent her home." Artorius chuckled as he stood before tripping over Jasper's head. "You can still catch up to her, if you like."

"Thank you," he said before heading out the door.

Indeed Artorius did catch up with Gwen who was making her way across the courtyard. "Guinevere!" She turned at his shout and he caught up with her.

"Sire, what …?"

"May I …. escort... you... home?" he asked breathlessly.

"Thank you, Sire, but it's only a short way."

"I insist," he said offering her arm. "Lady or not, you still deserve an escort home," he said. She smiled before taking his arm and they began to walk to her home.

"How is your head?" she asked.

"Better," he said. "The double vision is gone," he said. "Guinevere, I want to apologize for my behavior earlier in my chambers. It was inappropriate of me to kiss you like that."

"It was just on my cheek, Sire," Gwen said.

"Still, it caught you off guard," he said. "I hope I didn't offend you."

"No, you didn't," she said. "I was wondering what prompted you to kiss me."

"Um, you remind me of someone," he said. "Someone I was very close to," he added.

"What was she like?" she asked causing Artorius to look at her. "It's obvious that it's a woman," she said causing him to laugh.

"She was bossy," he said causing her to laugh, "but she was noble at heart, not just by blood and she was very tenacious. She was a member of a high noble family that was respected through our land. She was my personal bodyguard since I was 18."

"You fell in love," she said and at Artorius' nod she knew she hit the marker. "What happened to her?" she asked. Artorius let out a troubled sigh.

"She died protecting me from an archer in a raid," he said.

"Oh, Sire, I'm so sorry," she said.

"It's all right," he said. "The only consolation is that I killed the archer that fatally wounded her. She died in my arms."

"At least you got justice for her."

"Won't bring her back though," he said. "We had plans to get married this past summer. She was going to give up her duty to become my wife and mother of my children. It's a big deal for a female knight to give up her swords."

"She must have loved you very much."

"She did," Artorius said as they arrived at Gwen's house.

"This is me, Sire," she said just as her father, Thomas, emerged from the forge.

"Gwen, you're home early," he said.

"Morgana let me go early," she said.

"Who's this?"

"This is Prince Artorius from Sarmatia," Gwen said removing her arm from Artorius'. "Sire, my father, Thomas."

"Your Highness," Tom said starting to bow, but the young prince stopped him.

"Tonight, I'm just a guy escorting a girl home. I wanted to make sure that Guinevere got home safely."

"Oh, thank you for that Sire."

"My pleasure," the prince said. "Will I see you tomorrow Gwen?" he asked.

"Uh, of course," she said. Artorius smiled before turning to Thomas.

"It was nice to meet you, Thomas," he said extending his hand.

"Nice to meet you too, Sire," Thomas said shaking the prince's hand. Artorius nodded before turning back to head back to the castle. "Nice young man," Thomas commented. "Very nice of him to walk you home."

"It was," Gwen said. "Have you eaten yet, Father?"

"No, I haven't," Thomas said.

"Come on. I'll get you something to eat."

Meanwhile...

Morgana smiled as the baby dragon gave out a healthy burp after she finished feeding it. It let out a yawn before settling into her lap and fell asleep. "You'd make a great hatchling nurse," a voice said and she looked up to see Jasper was awake. "I've never seen a dragon take to anyone like that."

"How long have you been up?" she asked.

"Since Artorius tripped over my head," he said.

"I noticed the hatchling is a little big for a baby," Morgana mentioned.

"She's going to be a riding dragon," he explained coming to sit next to Morgana. "She'll bond with a young knight who has just finished Keeper training and by the time she's three, she'll be fully grown and flyable." Morgana petted the small dragon before examining her tail.

"Such beautiful coloring," she said. "Is there a way colors are decided?" Jasper nodded.

"Depends on when they're born," he said. "Dragons born in the spring and summer are born with lighter colors, reds, oranges and yellows. Dragons born in the fall and winter have darker colors, blues, greens, purples, browns and blacks. If they are born during what we call in between seasons, then colors vary."

"That's interesting," she said. "So, it doesn't matter what colors the parents are?"

"No, it doesn't," he said.

"So, what's her name?" Morgana asked gesturing to the sleeping dragon on her lap.

"Anya and my mother name the females. I don't think Anya's decided on a name just yet. Maybe in the morning," Jasper said.

"Well, it's getting late," Morgana said. "I should be getting back to my room." Jasper carefully lifted the baby from her lap and deposited her onto her bedding in front of the fire.

"I'll see you to your quarters," he said offering her his hand. She graciously took it and he helped her from the floor.

"Thank you," she said looping her arm around his. They headed out into the hall and began to trek to her room.

"So, where did Artorius go?" he asked.

"He went to escort Gwen home," Morgana said. She looked over to see Jasper smirk. "Should I be worried about my maid's virtue?" she asked.

"Oh, no. Artorius would never do that to a woman," he said. "It's just your maid has a rather striking resemblance with someone Artorius was involved with."

"He courted her?"

"Yes. They were supposed to get married this past summer."

"Why didn't they?"

"Jasmina was Artorius' bodyguard and she was very good at her task," he said. "Too good."

"Oh, no," Morgana said.

"She was killed during a raid. An archer took aim at him from behind and she threw herself in front of the arrow, fatally wounding herself. Artorius managed to kill him, but the damage was already done. She died in his arms." Morgana sighed mournfully. "Ever since Artorius hasn't been the same. Barely made it through the summer and what was supposed to be their wedding date. He's basically ignored every woman who's thrown themselves at his feet."

"That's the thing with Gwen," Morgana said. "She doesn't throw herself at men. She prefers to blend into the background. Of course men like Sir Lancelot notice women in the background," she said with distaste. "I caught him cornering her in my room one day," she said.

"Oohhh."

"Now I make sure Merlin walks her home every night," she said. "Your sister's maid better watch herself. Lancelot thinks maids are just around to keep the beds of knights warm."

"Creep," Jasper muttered. "Ezra can take care of herself. Besides, if Lancelot tries to do that with Ezra, he'll have to answer to her husband, the Royal blacksmith. He'd be on that knight so fast with his hammer, Lancelot wouldn't know what had hit him." Morgana giggled as they approached her door.

"Everyone in the kingdom thinks Lancelot's a creep. Even most of the knights he commands," she said causing Jasper to chuckle. "Come to think of it, Lancelot hasn't got many friends. Only Percival."

"What about family?" Jasper asked leaning against the wall.

"They were all killed by a rogue sorcerer about ten years ago," Morgana said. "Lancelot was the lone survivor in the attack."

"Surprised he doesn't hate everything to do with magic."

"Oh, he does," Morgana said. "He thinks he's hiding it, but I see right through his facade, what with the way he tries to boss Merlin around."

"Because he's magic?"

"Two years old and he was flinging his toys around in the playroom," Morgana said. "You should of seen his mother's face when the king was nearly hit in the head with a toy block." Jasper chuckled. "Well, I bid you good night, Prince Jasper," she said.

"I hope you sleep well, Morgana," Jasper said. She smiled as he kissed her hand and left down the hall. She sighed and entered her room.

Further down the hall stood Lancelot seething. "I'll show them," he muttered.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Morning came early for the Sarmatian siblings. When they woke up, the baby dragon was running around the room, barking happily. It was time for her first walk. The three drew lots and Artorius got to take Sinda, as Anya named her, out. "Come on, Sinda," he said to the dragon. She barked getting to her feet and hurried over to the door. "We won't be long," he said to Anya and Jasper who were eating breakfast. They nodded as he opened the door for Sinda. She tripped over her tail but regained her balance before hurrying out the door after Artorius.

The walk was a new adventure for Sinda. Artorius kept a slow pace and the baby dragon would stop at every new object in the hall to sniff it out of curiosity. If a servant came out a side room she'd get spooked and hide behind Artorius before coming out to investigate that person. It was a sight for the servants to see Sinda trailing behind the foreign prince. It wasn't long until Sinda began moving around Artorius, trying to trip him up with her tail and feet. "Sinda, stop it," he said before she dived at his leg.

"Hey," he said untwisting her from his leg. "No!' he said sternly before slapping her nose like you would a dog. Sinda opened her mouth and suddenly sneezed, blowing out some smoke.

"Bless you," a voice said and Artorius looked up to see Gwen with her hands full of laundry. Artorius stood with a smile.

"Guinevere," he said. "What a lovely morning, eh?" he asked.

"It is," she said. "Why did you smack her on the nose like that?" she asked.

"She attacked my leg," he said. "Just a little love tap to teach her a lesson."

"Well, she's adorable, sire," she said.

"You say that now," he said. "One year from now and she'll be twice this size," he said as Sinda continued her exploration of the hall.

"How is your head?" Gwen asked.

"Much better," Artorius said. "Thank you for asking," he said. "My double vision is gone completely." Sinda noticed that Artorius wasn't paying attention and looked up between the two of them. "I hope I didn't give your father the wrong impression last night."

"Oh, no," she said. "He thought is was very sweet of you to walk me home," she said with a smile.

"Are you working anytime during the afternoon?" he asked.

"I beg your pardon, sire?"

"Uh, lunch?"

"Oh, you want me to serve you lunch?" she asked.

"No, I want to have lunch with you," he said. Gwen chuckled looking around to make sure no one heard him.

"I don't think that's a very good idea, sire," she said.

"Why not?"

"Because, you're a visiting dignitary and I am a servant," she said. "It's not proper."

"To Hell with propriety," he said.

"I have chores, my lord," she said. "I must go," she said giving him a curtsey and leaving him behind. Artorius looked down at Sinda who had watched Gwen leave.

"Did I say something wrong?" he asked her. Sinda made a gurgling noise before continuing down the hall.

Dmitri entered Anya's room to find his two eldest children sitting at the table and no second son in sight. "Is there something you need, Father?" Anya asked.

"Where's Artorius?"

"Taking the baby for its first walk," Jasper said.

"Thank you," Dmitri said before walking back out of the room. Anya and Jasper looked at the closed door, then each other before shrugging.

Dmitri found Artorius sitting on steps in the hall as Sinda tried for a fifth time to go down them. She whined looking at the prince. "Don't look at me," he said. "You've got to figure this out on your own." She whined before trying again. Her tail had other ideas. It dipped between her legs and she tripped down the steps. Artorius chuckled as she turned to look at the offending tail. "Don't think about chewing it off," he said. "You'll need that to fly."

"She doesn't quite got the hang of it yet, huh?" Artorius turned to see his father standing him behind him.

"Father," he said standing up. "No, not quite," he gesturing to Sinda who was trying to keep her tail up to walk and went up the stairs. "She's got the going up part down."

"Artorius, son," Dmitri said. "We have to talk."

"Okay," he said and the two royals sat down on the steps.

"It's about your mother," the king said.

"Something's wrong with Mum?" Artorius asked.

"No, she's fine. I meant your birth mother, Juliana," Dmitri said.

"What about her?"

"She may not have been your birth mother after all," Dmitri said carefully as Artorius raised an eyebrow.

Anya and Jasper looked up from their work when the door opened and Artorius came in with Sinda from their walk. "How did the walk go?" Jasper asked.

"Good," Artorius said as Sinda scampered off to her bed next to the fire.

"Did father find you?" Anya asked.

"Yeah, he did," he said pulling out a chair and sat down on it.

"And?" Anya asked.

"He wanted to talk to me about my birth mother," Artorius said. "Juliana was apparently not the loving mother we thought her to be."

"What?" Jasper asked.

"There was a nurse maid here with the same name who kidnapped the Crowned prince, Arthur," Artorius explained.

"That's the Old English version of your name," Anya said. "Do they think that the Juliana that left you in the river is the same Juliana who kidnapped the prince?"

"Some sorceress scryed for Arthur and apparently she think he's me," Artorius said putting a leg up on the table.

"What are you going to do?" Jasper asked.

"I already told father I would meet with the king and queen," he said.

"Well, at least you know why they've been staring at you since you arrived," Anya said.

"Yeah," he said picking at his nails.

"You don't think they'd try something to keep you here, would they?" Jasper asked. Artorius chuckled.

"I'd like to see them try it," he said causing them to laugh.

Artorius followed his father to the Council room where he was spending his day with peace talks. "You will be on your best behavior," his father said.

"Only if they are," he remarked as they approached the council door.

"See? That's the attitude I'm talking about," he said. "Keep that tongue of yours in check when we enter this room," he commanded. "I'm speaking as both your father and King."

"Yes, Father," he said. Dmitri nodded to the guards and they opened the doors. Entering the hall, they found the King and Queen, Uther and Ygraine, and their sorcerer, along with the Court Physician, Gaius. They waited until Dmitri and Artorius were sitting before Uther started. "I'm pleased that you agreed to meet with us," Uther said to him. "We wanted to sort things out."

"Sort things out?" Artorius asked. "There is nothing to sort. You think I'm your lost son."

"You _are _our lost son," Uther said causing Artorius and Ygraine to groan simultaneously.

"Artorius," Dmitri scolded.

"He's already made up his bloody mind!" he said. "I wouldn't be surprised if he had his guards come in here and take me to a room and lock me in it."

"We would never keep you from your family, Artorius," Ygraine said. Uther looked at her like she was crazy. "What?" she asked him. "We are strangers to him. The Urauses are the only family he knows. You can't ask him to leave them to be here."

"I'm simply giving him options, Ygraine," Uther said. "A look to the future," he added.

"You do understand that Sarmatian Law is different from Camelot Law," Dmitri said. "Sabine and I brought Artorius up as one of our own. He's even in line to inherit the throne in the event all of my birth children die."

"Which won't happen," Artorius said. "Jasper and Anya would never let me on the throne before them," he said causing Ygraine to chuckle. "I can't learn your laws overnight."

"You do have a duty to Camelot, though," Uther said.

"Uther," Ygraine scolded.

"Duty?" Artorius asked standing up and Uther saw he clearly struck a nerve with the young prince.

"Artorius," his father said.

"No, he's saying I have a duty to a kingdom I know nothing about. I've been here for two and a half days and no nothing of your ways. I refuse to give up the laws I was taught to be son you crave for."

"Artorius!" Dmitri shouted. "Enough of your tongue." Artorius made a show of biting his tongue as he sat back down.

"I may look like them, Father, but I can't be them," he said before folding his arms.

"Sire, it's not Artorius' fault he was kidnapped," Gaius said to Uther. "It's Juliana's fault."

"You can't make him stay, Your Majesties," Nimueh said.

"She's right, Uther," Ygraine said.

"Perhaps you could spend some time with us during the rest of your stay and make your decision then," Uther said.

"I'll learn about Camelot, but I've already decided on leaving," he said standing up. "I'm not missing Anya's wedding," he said.

"Of course," Uther said.

"Am I done?" Artorius asked his father. Dmitri nodded and he headed over to the door. He swung it open, prompting Dmitri to speak.

"Don't slam the ..." he started to say but his son slammed the door on his way out, "door," the King finished. "I do apologize," he said to Uther and Ygraine. "His mother and I still have no idea where he gets that temper from."

"It's from him," Ygraine said pointing to Uther. "I'll clear some of my schedule to be with him. I'll assume he'll want to with me more than him."

"That's a safe assumption," Dmitri said to her and they both heard Uther grunt.

Atorius stomped into his room, startling Merlin who was cleaning. "Oh, Merlin," he said. "I'm sorry."

"It's all right," he said. "Are you okay?"

"No," the prince said.

"Want to talk about it?" the apprentice offered.

"Your King and Queen believe I am their lost son, Arthur," Artorius said.

"Really?" Merlin asked. "Are you?"

"I may be," he said. "The Court Sorceress thinks so."

"Did she scry for you?"

"She must have because Uther attempted to mold me into a Camelot Prince in the meeting I was just attending."

"Well, there is another way of testing," Merlin said.

"There is?" Artorius asked. Merlin nodded. "What is it?"

"It's a blood test," he answered. "It's a science thing."

"Can you do it?"

"I could try," he said, "but I need a book from Gaius' office," he said and he suddenly found himself being pulled out of the room by Artorius. "I guess we're going then," he joked.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Artorius was standing watch in Gaius' office as Merlin was searching for the book he needed to perform the blood test. "I'd be able to find this bloody book faster if he learned to catalog and alphabetize everything up here," he heard Merlin say and he let a chuckle.

"So, is Gaius magical too?" he asked examining a chemistry set.

"Yeah, he is, but he uses his magic mostly for healing," Merlin said. "Nimueh does the protection spells and other magic. He helps out every now and then, but he stays neutral. He prefers the scientific ways anyway."

"I guess that's why everyone just believed the scrying results then," he said sitting down.

"Yeah," Merlin said. Just then the door opened and the Court Physician walked through.

"Gaius," Artorius said standing up.

"Your Highness," Gaius said. "Is there something I can do for you?" he asked. Just then there was a shout of victory from atop the rafters causing Artorius to groan and Merlin popped up from behind a wall of books.

"I found …." he began to say then saw Gaius, "...it."

"Merlin," Gaius scolded.

"I wanted to help Artorius," he said. "I was going to do a blood test to see if the king and queen were really his parents."

"Just how were you planning on doing this since you need blood from said king and queen?" Gaius asked

"Um..." Merlin said before Gaius produced to vials of blood. "Blood samples?" he asked.

"I am always two steps ahead of everyone, Merlin. Remember that?"

"Yes, sir," he said coming down from the rafter. He handed Gaius the book and took the vials from him.

"All I need is a sample from you, Sire," he said to Artorius who stuck out his arm immediately.

"Take what you need," he said to the scientist.

Lancelot entered the training grounds to find his knights gathered around talking with one another. "Don't you have anything better to do than to gossip like a bunch of courtiers?" he asked causing them to break apart. "What's going on, Percy?" he asked. "Everywhere I turn people are gossiping."

"You haven't heard then," Percy said.

"Heard what?"

"It's been circulating around all morning," Percy said. "Prince Arthur may have been found."

"What?" Lancelot asked stopping causing Percy to run into him. Last thing he needed as Arthur to return. He'd lose command of the knights.

"Here's the kicker," Percy said. "There's another rumor that it's Prince Artorius," he said causing Lancelot to chuckle.

"Impossible," he said. "He's Sarmatian."

"Actually, he's not. He was adopted by the Uraues family after he was abandoned by his mother, Juliana."

"That's the maid that kidnapped Prince Arthur," Lancelot said.

"Right."

"So, what's going on?"

"Well, Artorius will be spending time with the Queen at luncheons and walks through the kingdom," he said.

"Has any of this been confirmed?"

"Lady Nimueh ..." Percy started to say.

"Not by magic," Lancelot snapped. "By other means."

"Uh, Gaius is doing a blood test," he said. "Are you okay?"

"You realize what this means?" Lancelot asked.

"Uh, no," Percy said.

"It doesn't matter who marries Anna now if Arthur's discovered alive."

"What's the big deal, Lance? It's not the end of the world. Camelot has their prince back."

"This will ruin everything."

"What do you mean?" Percy asked.

"Nothing," he said before stalking off.

"Hey, what about training?" he shouted after Lancelot. He sighed out in despair before turning to the knights. "Let's run some drills."

Artorius glanced over Gaius' shoulder as he tried to compare the blood to each other. "Your Highness, I can't concentrate when you're hovering," the scientist said.

"Oh, sorry," Artorius said pulling back. "I'm just anxious."

"I understand." He dropped a drop of a liquid on the blood mixed together and it caused a reaction that had Gaius stunned. "Hmm," he pondered.

"What?" Artorius and Merlin asked together.

"For once, Lady Nimueh was right."

"So, that means I am Uther and Ygraine's son?"

"Your blood is their blood," Gaius said.

"Wow," Merlin said. "After all these years." Artorius sighed as he sat down to take in what he had just learned.

"This is going to take awhile to sink in," he said. "I'll have to learn of Camelot and it's people if I'm going to come back."

"Wait, you are coming back, aren't you?" Merlin asked.

"Merlin," Gaius scolded. "We cannot make Artorius stay," he said.

"But if he leaves, than Lancelot will marry Anna and he'll become King," Merlin protested.

"Don't be ridiculous," Gaius said. "Lancelot is twice Anna's age."

"That won't stop him," he said. "He's Uther's favorite and I have heard through certain channels that Uther would rather have Anna marry Lancelot when becomes marrying age."

"Merlin, you could get the stockade for eavesdropping on the royals," Gaius said causing Artorius to chuckle. "I'll go and tell the King and Queen the news."

"In the meantime, I think I'll go make myself scarce," Artorius said as Gaius left the room.

"You have to come back, Artorius," Merlin said. "For Camelot's sake," he added causing Artorius to groan.

"I'm not kidding," he snapped. "Morgana had a really terrible nightmare the other night that she's afraid of telling Uther about."

"Nightmare?" the prince asked.

"Well, Morgana's a seer, but sometimes her visions turn out to just nightmares, but this is not the case," he said.

"Tell me more," Artorius said.

"I only heard from Gwen, but it appears that Morgana's nightmare involved Lancelot. It's why she hates him so much. She saw him taking over Camelot and the kingdom in ruins under his rule."

"And she thinks this is a vision from the future?" he asked.

"It is," he said. "She says if Lancelot becomes King, Camelot is doomed," Merlin said causing Artorius to ponder at what he was saying.

Lancelot paced back and forth in his house thinking out loud. "This is going to ruin everything," he said. "I have to do something," he muttered. He ran his hands through his hair, trying to think of something. "Can't become King if the runt comes back. What can I do?" He stopped pacing and sat down before standing back up. "He's got to go," he said before leaving the house.

Artorius was reading a book when there was a knock on his door. "Who is it?" he asked.

"Your endearing sister and brother," a voice called out causing him to roll his eyes. He got up from the chair and opened the door. Anya and Jasper stood before him with smiles.

"No way you two are endearing," he said. "Not with those smiles," he added.

"Drown your sorrows, Little Brother?" Jasper asked producing a bottle of red liquid from behind his back.

"Is that Fire Whiskey?" he asked.

"Yeah," Anya said. "We each hide a bottle in our trunks," she added revealing her own bottle. He let them into his room and headed to his own trunk.

"Those will go great with the one I have," he said pulling out his own bottle causing his two siblings to laugh. They sat down at the table in the middle of the room and popped the tops off their own bottle.

"Here's to my new found heritage," he said holding up his bottle and the other two shadowed him and the bottles clinked together. The three took swigs together causing to them to gasp out and set their bottles down. "Oh, that hit the spot."

"Look on the bright side," Jasper said. "You'll be King after all," he said causing Anya to groan and him to snicker. "Just not the kingdom that you wanted."

"Who's watching the baby?" he asked.

"Ezra volunteered," Anya said. "She insisted we come and cheer you up," she said.

"Where's father?" Artorius asked.

"Which one?" Jasper joked causing Anya to smack him in the arm. "Ow!" he shrieked.

"This is not a joking matter, Jasper," she said. "This Uther is not his father. They be biologically linked, but our father is his father."

"Thank you, Sis," Artorius said before taking another swig. "And you're right. None of this changes anything," he said. "Father is father and you two are the annoying older siblings you were growing up."

Both Anya and Jasper clinked their bottles together before taking swigs. "King Uther can try all he can, but there is nothing he can that will get me to call him 'Dad'," he said causing them to snicker. "He has to earn it," he said before taking his own swig.

"What about the Queen?" Anya asked.

"Well, she's not that bad," Artorius said. "I might actually warm up to her first."

"So, you're coming back with us?" Jasper asked.

"Yes, I am," he said. "There's no way I am missing your wedding," he said to Anya causing her to chuckle, "and I can't stay here knowing that mother would get on the first dragon she can find and fly here to punish me for not saying goodbye to her and the twins first," he finished causing Jasper and Anya to salute him with their bottles and they drank together.

"Twins are really going to miss you," Anya said.

"I know," he said. "I'm going to miss their Keeper training," he added.

"You can still come visit," she said. "You can see them at their graduation, birthdays," she said.

"Won't be the same," he said taking a small swig. "Queen Ygraine said I could join her and Anna in their walks among the lower towns. Get to know the people," he said.

"That is a great idea," Jasper said pointing to Artorius. He and Anya looked at each other and could tell that Jasper was already sounding a bit tipsy. "Father said that's what makes a kingdom. The people."

"To the people," Anya said holding up her bottle. Jasper swayed a bit before clinking his bottle against hers. He could never hold his liquor like she and Artorius could. "One person who might not seem to thrilled about all this is Sir Lancelot."

"Oh, yes, him," Artorius said. "You know, ever since we came here, I've heard nothing but negative things about him."

"I don't think many people like him," Jasper said. "Except maybe that one knight, Percy and the king."

"You'll be taking command of the knights," Anya said.

"From the looks of their training we saw the other day," Artorius said. "I think that would be a godsend," he said. "All those knights, aside from Leon and some of the older knights, they are seriously out of shape."

"Won't matter," Jasper said. "Most of them hate him to begin with," Jasper said taking a swig of whiskey.

"Lady Morgana hates him too."

"When did she tell you that?" Anya asked knowing she would get a truthful answer with him being tipsy.

"Last night," he said without thinking twice. Anya and Artorius' eyes grew in size when he had answered her and they looked to each other.

"Last night?" they asked together. Jasper stopped mid swig before looking at them.

"Nothing happened," he said. "I was a complete gentleman. All I did was walk her back to her room," he said.

"Uh, huh," Anya said causing Artorius to chuckle and the two clinked their bottles together as a knock was heard against the door.

"It's open!" Artorius shouted and the door opened to reveal Dmitri. All three looked at the whiskey bottles sitting on the table, neither of them making an attempt to hide them.

"Oh, just what I need," Dmitri said crossing his arms. "My three _adult_ children getting drunk."

"Wouldn't have it any other way," Jasper said clearly well on his way to being completely drunk. It caused the other to laugh out.

"Can we be serious for once?" he asked taking the bottle away from Jasper. "You're cut off."

"I haven't even finished the bottle," Jasper whined.

"What did you want to talk about, Father?" Anya asked.

"I'm cutting our trip short," he said. "It's going to take a few days to finalize the treaty, but after I've signed it, we'll be going home."

"Any reason why?" Artorius asked.

"Last twelve hours have been quite hectic," Dmitri said. "You should still have time to spend with Queen Ygraine,"

"I haven't made up my mind on whether or not I am coming back."

"I know, but it wouldn't hurt to at least have dinner with her, which is where you will be tonight," he said.

"Guess I should stop drinking then," Artorius said.

"It would be nice if you could be sober for the dinner," the king said as Artorius plugged up his bottle.

"Should probably wash up too," he said.

"Wouldn't be a bad idea," his father said before leaving the room. Artorius stashed his whiskey back into his trunk and pointed to his sister.

"Don't drink my booze," he said.

"It's got your germs on it," she said.

"Ha, ha," Artorius mocked before pointing to the door. "Out," he said. "I gotta wash up."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

One of Ygraine's maids came to get Artorius and led him to the Queen's parlor. "We're not going to the dining hall?" he asked the maid.

"The Queen and Princess prefer to get to know you better as a person, my lord," the maid answered. "She thought that you would feel more comfortable in a more cheerful setting than the dining hall." Artorius chuckled as he followed the maid down the hall. Coming to a door, the maid told him to wait as she entered the room and she announced him. She came back out, holding the door open for him. "You may go in, Prince Artorius," she said and he walked in. Ygraine sat on a chair wit Anna next to her.

"Your Majesty, Your Highness," he said before bowing to them, but Ygraine just waved her hand around.

"We'll have none of that, Artorius," she said before gesturing to him. She then gestured to the seat at the one side. He sat down and cleared his throat before speaking.

"Thank you for the invite to dinner," he said.

"I'm pleased that you accepted," she said as servants began to bring food into the room. "I was hoping we could talk and get to know one another."

"I like the sound of that," he said. "Uh, King Uther won't be joining us, will he?"

"I asked him to not come to this dinner," she said. "After that little meeting this afternoon, I know my husband is not one of your favorite people at the moment."

"Is he always like that?" Artorius asked.

"Since the day I married him, actually," she said causing him to chuckle. "He just has to realize that you have had a different upbringing than Anna," she said gesturing to the young princess.

"There is one good thing out of this," Anna said. "I may not have to marry Sir Lancelot anymore," she said.

"But you're twelve," Artorius said.

"Yes, but in a few years, I will be of marrying age," Anna said, "and Father always had his heart set on getting me married off to someone who would be fit to be King."

"And he thinks Lancelot is fit to be King?" Artorius asked and Anna laughed.

"Look, Mother, someone else who speaks his mind," she said.

"Yes, I see," Ygraine said. "My husband only tolerated Lancelot because he's the son of an old friend, Sir Ector."

"I heard from the knights that the only reason he's the commander of the knights is because his father was and that there was no Crowned Prince," Artorius said. "At the time," he added.

"Honestly, Lancelot is a waste of noble blood," Ygraine said.

"Your Majesty?" Artorius asked.

"He deliberately abuses his status and power," she said. "I felt sorry for Merlin until you came along. He would always have Merlin doing things that weren't even his job. He's Gaius' apprentice and is going to be a dragon lord when his father passes. Not his personal slave. Lancelot spends more time giving orders and hunting than training his knights."

"That's actually something I wanted to talk to you about, Ygraine," he said.

"Oh?" she asked.

"Jasper and I have been watching them practice drills and fight sessions and we're not that impressed. The only ones who seem to know how to fight are the seasoned veterans," he said. "All those new or young knights have sloppy footwork."

"Really?" the Queen asked.

"I could probably defeat all of them in a little skirmish," he said. "How does Lancelot allow men to join the knights?"

"He just let's them join if they have the proper paperwork," Anna said. At Artorius' confused look, she explained further. "All knights must be of noble birth to be a knight," she said causing him to scoff.

"Even Sarmatian stable boys can fight," Artorius said. "I could probably have a Sarmatian stable boy fight a noble Camelot knight and the stable boy would be the victor."

"Is that how sloppy our knights are?" the Queen asked.

"Not all of them," Artorius said, "but if you need them to fight in a war sometime in the future, they're going to need extensive training from someone who's actually seen war."

"Have you seen war?" Anna asked and Artorius nodded. "When?"

"A couple of years ago, some folk from up North of us tried to invade to overtake our dragon breeding grounds," Artorius said. "We had a few losses, but once the Dragon Cavalry came out, we won," he said.

"That's why no one attacks you?" Anna asked. "You're dragon cavalry?"

"That's right," he said.

"So, are you going to stay?" she asked.

"Anna," Ygraine scolded and Anna went back to her food.

"I will be returning to Sarmatia when my family leaves," he said. "Anya's wedding is very important to me."

"But we're your family now too," Anna said. "With you as my brother than Lancelot's scheming can finally stop. He will never be King if you are."

"Anna," Ygraine said before Anna got up from her seat and left the room. "I'm sorry, Artorius," she said. "Since she's becoming a woman, Lancelot has been giving her gifts and things to win her favor. At first she was just a girl with a crush, but Uther has taken the giggles and blushes the wrong way."

"Has he arranged a marriage between them?" Artorius asked.

"Oh, over my dead body," she said. "He's not going to hand over my daughter to some man twice her age," she said.

"I take it she grew out of her crush?" he asked.

"Thank God," Ygraine said. "Lancelot is believed to be plotting to be King by marrying Anna. Uther can't see what others can. Even Morgana's had a vision of Lancelot being on the throne and the kingdom is in ruins." There was a knock on the door and it opened to reveal Morgana. "Morgana?"

"Your Majesty, Your Highness," she said going into a curtsey. "I wanted to tell you this before it's too late," she said.

"What ever is the matter, dear?" Ygraine asked.

"Uther is going announce Prince Arthur's return to court since it's already circulating that he's back," she said.

"What?" Artorius asked standing up. "He's got to make some announcement about it. Does my father know?" he asked.

"Uh, I don't think he does," Morgana said as Ygraine stood up.

"I will handle my husband, Artorius," she said. "Please finish your meal," she added before hurrying out of the room.

"She seems vexed," the prince said and Morgana chuckled.

"Trust me, that was the calm vexed Queen," she said. "The angry vexed Queen is saved for Uther."

Meanwhile …..

Lancelot entered Princess Anya's chambers and found her maid folding clothes. She didn't notice him and he looked over to see the baby dragon playing by the fire. The baby looked up to see him and made a noise that caused Ezra to turn around. "Sir Lancelot?" she asked. "Is there something I can help you with?" she asked moving herself to get between the knight and baby. She didn't like the way he was looking at her.

"I was wondering if Princess Anya was here," the knight said.

"She is not," Ezra said. "Now, I must ask you to leave the room, immediately," she said. Lancelot stared at her with disgust.

"You dare give me an order like that?" he asked moving in on her. "No one talks to me like that," he said.

Back to Ygraine …...

The Queen was livid, so to speak. She arrived at her husband's study where she knew he goes after dinner. She knocked on the door once before barging in. "Uther, my dear," she said sweetly.

"Yes?" he asked tediously. He always hated it when she used that tone.

"I heard something that was a bit disturbing from our ward," Ygraine said sitting down. "You intend to announce our son's return to court."

"Well, my dear, it's already spreading around that he's returned," Uther said. "I just wanted to confirm it."

"Have you discussed this with King Dmitri?" she asked.

"I didn't think I needed to," Uther said.

"Uther, he is Artorius' father," she said.

"But he's my son," Uther said. "I think Camelot has the right to know that their lost prince has returned."

"Yes, Camelot has the right to know, but he may chose to not return because of this decision you decided on," Ygraine said.

"Why on Earth would he not come back?"

"Because he has a family in Sarmatia."

"He has a family here too," Uther said

"No, Uther, he doesn't," she said finally snapping. "We didn't raise him. We weren't there for his first steps or words. We weren't there when he fell and skinned his knee. We didn't see him become a knight and a grown man. We didn't comfort him when he lost his beloved in an ambush. The Uraeuses were. King Dmitri is the one he calls 'father' and Queen Sabine is the one he calls ..." she trailed off on the verge of tears. " ...'mother'," she finished. "We are simply the donors of his blood. We are not a mother and father to him."

"Ygraine," Uther said.

"And if you keep acting like this, we may never will be," she said before walking to the door. She turned when she got to it to say her final piece. "Tonight, you sleep in here," she said. "Don't come to bed because I am furious with you right now." And with that said, Ygraine left the room, slamming the door behind her.

Anya entered her room to find Ezra standing by the fire. "Ezra, I didn't see you there," she said. "Are you all right?"

"No," maid said turning around to face Anya. The princess gasped seeing a bruise on Ezra's face.

"Ez, who did this to you?" she asked coming closer to her to examine the bruise.

"Sir Lancelot, milady," Ezra answered. "I think he meant to harm the baby."

"Where is Sinda now?" she asked.

"I don't know," Ezra said. "She ran out of the room after Lancelot hit me in the face. I think he went after her," she said.

"Get their physician to look at that," Anya said. "I'm going to find father and the boys to search for Sinda."

"I'm sorry, milady," Ezra said. "I should have done more."

"Ez, don't think like that," Anya said. "Get yourself looked at and we'll find her, okay?" The maid nodded and Anya left her room in search of her father. She found Artorius along the way walking with Morgana.

"Artorius, Sinda's missing," she said.

"What?" he asked.

"Sir Lancelot came into my room and hit Ezra to get to her. She fled the room and now she's missing," she said.

"What would Lancelot want with Sinda?" Morgana asked.

"The same things the hunters and collectors want dragons. Their blood and scales," Artorius said.

"I am on my way to find father and to start a search of the castle for Sinda," Anya said.

"I'll find Jasper and we'll start looking," Artorius said as Anya hurried down the corridor to their father's quest chambers.

"I can help you look," Morgana said.

"Baby dragons like to hide in warm places, so start there and then just look anywhere," Artorius said. Morgana nodded before heading off in the opposite direction to search for Sinda.

Dmitri couldn't believe his ears after Anya told him. "Uther's head knight, Lancelot?" he asked.

"Yes, father," Anya said. "His actions against Ezra have caused Sinda to go missing," she added. "I've already alerted Artorius."

"All right, I'll talk with Uther about actions against his knight," Dmitri said. "Find the dragon, at all costs," he ordered.

"Yes, father," she said before leaving the room.

Upon entering her room, Morgana sensed something was different. The room was clean and organized meaning Gwen was through already, but she felt it was different. She decided to search thoroughly in the small areas for Sinda. She looked under her bed and in her bed; no Sinda. She looked near her fireplace and under her chair; no Sinda. A small gurgle caused her to turn and she saw a blue and green tail sticking out of her wardrobe.

"Sinda, is that you?" she asked. She got a small yelp in response and the tail slipped in the wardrobe as she slowly made her way over to it. She knelt down to the floor before slowing opening the doors. Tucked under her winter cape was Sinda cowering in fright. "Oh, sweetie," she said. "It's okay. You're safe now." Like before, she let the baby sniff her hand and Sinda came out from underneath her cape. "Are you hurt?" she asked looking for any signs that the baby was hurt. Of course, she wasn't a Keeper or breeder of dragons. She wouldn't know what the first thing to look for. "Can I pick you up?" she asked. Sinda whined as Morgana slowly picked her up and held her close. "How about we go find Jasper, okay?" she asked and she stood up.

Getting out of her room, Morgana noticed Sinda clinging closer to her. She whimpered not knowing what was around each corner. The whole journey to Jasper's room, Morgana spoke softly to the dragon and finally arrived at the prince's door. She found it silly that Jasper would be in his room. He was probably searching for Sinda somewhere in the castle. She figured that if she started to walk to the Great Hall, she was bound to run in to someone. Coming to the bottom of a flight of stairs, she found the king, Dmitri.

"Your Majesty," she called out and she saw relief in the king's eyes when he saw who she had in her arms.

"Oh, for the love of the gods. You found her," he said. Sinda seemed to have recognized the king because she yelped out happily and was no longer hiding against Morgana.

"Has anyone found Lancelot?" she asked.

"Apparently he went hunting," Dmitri said. "King Uther promises me that there will be comeuppances for Sir Lancelot when he returns." Morgana smiled in agreement.

"It's about time he gets what he deserves," she said.


	10. Chapter 10

Author Note: I want to thank everyone for the wonderful reviews for this story and for being with me til the end. I will continue this plot in another story, but I haven't started it yet and I don't post a new story until I start it. Plus I have at least three other stories that I need to finish on here before I start a new one. Thanks again for the reviews.

Chapter Ten

When Lancelot returned from his hunting trip, he noticed the courtyard was completely empty. After loosing Sinda when she ran out the door, he decided to take out his frustration with hunting. Problem was that he was stalking through the woods and making too much noise. He came back empty handed. He bellowed for a servant, but no one came. He grunted as he took his horse to the stables himself and took care of the saddle. Once that was taken care of, he headed into the castle to get cleaned up for dinner.

During his walk through the castle, Lancelot had noticed not one single person was around. Not even a servant milling about the halls. Something was not right. The first thing that came to his mind was if the castle had come under attack while he was hunting. The next thing that came to his mind was maybe the Sarmatians had something to do with it. He came up to his room to find the first sign of life in the castle.

In front of his door stood Sir Leon, a veteran of the knights. "Sir Leon, where is everyone?" Lancelot asked.

"The King wishes to see you in the throne room, Sir Lancelot," Leon said. "He demanded that you arrive in style."

"Oh, well, in style I shall be," Lancelot said before walking into his room. He did not see the smirk on Leon's face when he closed the door.

Fifteen minutes later, Lancelot was all dolled up in his chain mail and armor with his red cape flowing behind him as he walked to the Throne Room. As he walked he thought of reasons why the King was asking him to arrive in style. One bit of hope suggested that he may announce a betrothal between him and Princess Anna. He came upon the doors and the guards opened the door. The whole court was present which made Lancelot even more giddy. It was definitely important if the whole court was there. It was the betrothal no doubt. He strode forward with a smug look on his face and stopped just before the King and Queen, Princess Anna and Lady Morgana. He bowed to one knee and looked to see the Uraeus family was present as well. "You may rise, Sir Lancelot," Uther said. Lancelot stood up from the floor and waited for the King to speak. "There is a very pressing matter that needs attention," he said.

"Of course, my lord," Lancelot said.

"The Uraeuses lost their dragon because one of our knights attempted to steal it causing it to run away," Uther explained. He watched as Lancelot's face he told him this and saw a bit of worry grace the knight's face. "Thankfully the baby was unharmed and Morgana found her in her room. The problem though is that you are the accused knight," he said causing Lancelot to scoff and the courtiers to gasp at the accusation.

"I was hunting, Sire," he said. "It couldn't have been me."

"Well, from what I heard, you went hunting after the baby escaped," Uther said.

"And who is my accuser?" he asked.

"Anya's maid, Ezra," Uther said and Lancelot scoffed again. An arrogant scoff.

"You're going to believe the word of a servant over the word of one of your knights?" he asked causing Dmitri to speak for the first time.

"Ezra has been my daughter's maid for twelve years," he said. "She has been loyal and honest in those twelve years. She has no reason to lie to us. Your treatment towards her in the matter you did was inexcusable."

"Excuse me, Sire?"

"Slapping her across the face is a crime in our lands," Anya said. "There is already a welt developing on her face from it," she said.

"Plus, your hand that you hit her with is bruised as well," Jasper said.

"Not to mention that the dragon is a witness to," Artorius said. Lancelot chuckled before the little blue and green dragon came out from behind Anya's dress skirt and growled heavily. When Lancelot looked her way, she yelped out before scurrying back behind Anya. "That's enough for a conviction in Sarmatia."

"This is ludicrous," Lancelot said. "You can't possibly believe all this, Your Majesty," he said to Uther.

"These people are our guests, Sir Lancelot. To raise a hand to one of them royal, noble or servant is inexcusable," Uther said. "I'm shocked by this Lancelot. You have been having erratic behavior ever since the Uraeuses have been in the kingdom. I cannot let this go unpunished."

"I will take any punishment for my actions, Your Majesty," the knight said.

"He should be castrated for touching my maid like that," Anya quipped causing Lancelot to get a look of fear on his face. Jasper and Artorius had to stifle their giggling at the sight.

"Nose down, Anya," Dmitri said. "I'm sure that King Uther will hand out the necessary punishment."

"I will," Uther said. "As of this day, you are no longer in charge of the knights."

"Wait, what?" Lancelot asked. "You can't do that."

"I am King. I can do what I think is necessary!" Uther shouted. The court went into a whispering frenzy. "You are lucky I don't strip you of your knighthood."

"Who is to command the knights then?" he asked.

"Sir Leon is more than capable of commanding them," Uther said.

"Until when?"

"Until I return in the spring," Artorius said causing shock and awe. Ygraine looked over to him with a smile before consoling herself.

'You will return then?" Uther asked.

"I have thought about it and my father and I have come a decision," he said. "I will return in the Spring and stay for a year. If life in Camelot suits me, I will stay indefinitely," he said.

"I am pleased," Uther said.

"I will warn you now though," he said. "You do anything that doesn't suit with me, I will leave and never return."

"I understand," Uther said. "As for you," he said turning to Lancelot. "You are on a short leash from now on, Sir Lancelot," the King said. "Anything happens that questions your conduct towards anyone will result in your being stripped of your knighthood and banished from Camelot."

"Of course, Sire," he said.

"You are dismissed," Uther said and Lancelot left the throne room with red in his face. Whether it's from embarrassment or anger, no one would ever know. Lancelot was not sure himself as he skulked off.

Artorius had laid down some rules for Uther to follow when he would return. "I will go as Arthur when I am here, but it may take me awhile to answer since I'm not used to it."

"Of course," Uther said.

"I'll take the room I am in now as my own for my stay here," Artorius said.

"We have a room more fit for ..."

"I will take whatever room I want and I want the one I'm currently in. You will make no changes to it. I like it the way it is."

"Anything else?" Uther asked.

"Merlin's been a big help since I came here," Artorius said.

"You would like him as your permanent manservant?" Uther asked.

"Actually, I would like Merlin as a friend not a servant," Artorius said. "After all, he'll probably be Dragonlord and Court Sorcerer when I am King should I chose to stay in Camelot after my year here."

"Of course," Uther said.

Sir Leon found his way to Prince Artorius' guest chambers. The prince had asked him to come talk to him before he was to leave in the morning. He knocked on the door and waited until Artorius himself answered the door. "Your Highness."

"Leon, please, come in," he said standing to the side. Leon walked in and Artorius closed the door. "Okay, the reason I asked you here. I want you to know that I expect results with the knights when I return in the spring. Those knights, especially the younger ones, need retraining and they are not going to get it if you are soft."

"I assure you, Sire, I am not soft," Leon said. "I plan to have them training in the winter months as well."

"Good," Artorius said. "I expect nothing but the best from you, Sir Leon," he said.

"I will not let you down, Sire," Leon said.

"Good," Artorius said, "and call me Arthur when I arrive back. Otherwise we will never get past the weather," he added causing Leon to chuckle.

Jasper was packing when there was a small knock on his door. Sasha went to answer it and he came back with a smile. "Lady Morgana to see you, Your Highness," he said.

"Oh, let her in, Sash," Jasper said fixing his appearance. Sasha smiled before going back to the door to let Morgana in. When she walked in, she was a vision to say the least. She wore an ivory dress that shimmered every time she took a step. "Wow, you look absolutely stunning," he said out loud before he could stop himself. She chuckled before clearing her throat.

"I wanted to help you pack since you'll be leaving first thing tomorrow," she said.

"Oh, that's nice of you, Morgana," he said. As they packed, Morgana asked questions about what his mother actually did as a Dragon nurse. "She cares for the infant dragons after they are rescued."

"So, basically she does what I did with Sinda," Morgana said.

"Exactly," he said. He watched her smile as she folded his Keeper outfit. "Morgana, this may be blunt of me to ask but, I was wondering if I could write to you," he said.

"Write me?" she asked.

"Well, I realize this is sudden, but these few days here in your presence has caused me to rethink my bachelorhood. I am going to ask Uther permission to write to you. I wouldn't want to go behind his back and court you without his permission."

"Court me?" Morgana asked and he nodded. "I would like that."

"Glad that's out of the way," he said causing her to laugh.

Ezra was giving several instructions to the woman servants as they helped pack up Anya's room. Anya was by the fire tending to the dragon. Sinda was stepped on by a servant girl and she was checking her tail for damages. "Nothing damaged, Sinda," she assured the dragon as she scratched under her chin.

"I'm sorry again, milady," the servant said.

"Maggie, I said there was no damage," she said. "It's all right."

"Of course, milady," she said before leaving the room. Ezra came over with a bottle for Sinda who perked up at the sight of the bottle.

"She seems on edge," Anya said to her maid.

"Maggie isn't the only one," Ezra said. "The whole of Camelot is buzzing after Lancelot received his lashing from the King. It seems everyone thinks he got what he deserved."

"He did," Anya said giving the bottle to Sinda. "You realize what would've happened to him if he had hit you with your husband in range."

"He would not be breathing," Ezra said. Her husband, Omar, was a big man, weighing in at two hundred and fifty pounds and over six feet tall. He was the castle blacksmith and Ezra fell in love with him at first sight. They have two small children, twins. A boy, Fergin and a girl, Tegwin. Omar is very protective of his family and they may have to confine him in the dungeon after Ezra tells him what happened to her in Camelot. By the time they arrive in Sarmatia her bruise will be long gone, but Ezra does not lie to her husband. Which is unfortunate news for Lancelot.

There was a knock on the door and Ezra went to answer it. She came back with Princess Anya who had a gift in her arms. "Anna, what a pleasant surprise."

"I'll probably still be in bed when you leave at first light tomorrow, so mother suggested I bring you my gift for Trisian now," she said.

"Of course," Anya said patting the spot next to her on the couch. Anna sat herself down and showed Anya an embroidered dark blue shirt. It had designs all around the sleeves and the color would match Trisian's eyes perfectly. It then occurred to her that this was what Anna had been working on when she was having tea with the Queen the other day. She must have started working on it when she learned that they were coming to discuss a treaty.

"I made this for him," she said. "I was hoping to get it finished before you left."

"It's not finished?" Anya asked.

"It is," she said as she folded up the shirt and placed it in the box. She closed up the box and tied the ribbon around it. "I hope he likes it."

"Anna, I have a feeling he will like it," Anya said. Truth be told, Anna was all her seventeen year old cousin could talk about since his return from Camelot last year. It would seem that Anna was the same way. Anya had seen the way the soon to be thirteen year old princess had brightened up at Trisian's gift. Perhaps in a few years when Anna was old enough there will be another wedding for a Sarmatia prince. Then again, it might be held off so Jasper can have his first. If Jasper had his way, he'd take Morgana with him to Sarmatia.

Artorius was trolling through the castle looking for one person; Guinevere. He spotted her in a random hall carrying laundry. "There you are," he said. "I've been looking everywhere for you."

"Oh, my lord?" she asked.

"I understand you have this thing going on about how you're a servant and I'm a prince and we could never be together."

"It's true, Sire."

"Well, let me give you a little food for thought," Artorius said. "My mother, Queen Sabine, was a servant."

"She was?" Gwen asked.

"She was a young handmaiden to my grandfather's sister at the time. She sixteen when she started her work and he was eighteen. He fell in love at first sight. At the time, their love was forbidden."

"Your …," she started to say but he held up a finger.

"I'm not finished," he said. "Over time, my great Aunt took pity on them and actually put together meets for them so that they could be together," he said. "Then my grandfather found out."

"He was mad?"

"Furious," he corrected. "He sent my father on a retrieving mission to Gaul in his anger. Several weeks went by and there was no word on what happened to my father. My mother left her post as handmaiden and headed to Gaul to find out what happened to my father. She found him in the dungeon of the Gaul King's castle. He had been captured. She realized that no word had come because my father's bodyguard had been killed trying to allow my father time to escape. She formulated a plan and got a job as a maid in the King's castle. After a few days, she managed to break my father out of the dungeon and they escaped together."

"She did that for him?" she asked.

"When they returned together, my grandfather realized that her love for my father had her going into enemy territory and rescuing him. She saved his only son, so he gave her what she wanted most."

"What was that?"

"Marriage to his only son," Artorius said. "Father and mother has told us that story numerous times to show us that you can't help who you fall in love with," he said. "It's also why there are no marriage clauses in Sarmatia or bethrothals."

"You fell in love already, Sire."

"I did it again," he said looking at her. "You can't replace her, but the way you look like her can't keep me away from you. She would want me to move on."

"Even if I'm a servant girl," she said. "I have no nobility in my blood."

"Nobility isn't defined by blood, Gwen. It's defined by one's actions." He took a hold of her hand and gave it a small kiss. "Until the spring, milady," he said before leaving her in the hall.

The morning came early for everyone. Morgana had Gwen wake her early so she could see Jasper off. He had asked Uther for permission to write to her and he was granted it. An overseas courtship began. Artorius shook Merlin's hand as the young sorcerer gave him his cloak. "I'll see you in the spring, Merlin," Artorius said.

"Have a safe trip," Merlin said.

"Thank you," the prince said as servants took out his trunks. "I expect to be shown Camelot by one of it's finiest members," he said. "Hope you're up to the challenge."

"I'm looking forward to it, Sire."

"Uh, tell you what, no 'Sire' when I get back. Just Arthur, okay?"

"Okay," he said. Artorius smiled as he put his cloak on and headed out.

Dmitri was saying his farewells to Uther and Ygraine when he came out to the courtyard. He noticed the absence of Lancelot, but then again, he didn't think the knight would have the balls to show his face after yesterday. Artorius pulled on his riding gloves and walked over to Morgana. "I will see you in the spring, Morgana," he said.

"I look forward to your return, Artorius," she said before he went over to Anna, who had gotten up anyway, and bent down on one knee.

"I'm excited about getting a brother," she said. "It means I won't have to marry anyone anytime soon." Artorius chuckled as Anna wrapped her arms around his neck. "I'm going to count the days until you get here."

"I'm looking forward to having a little sister," he said. "Just don't tell Anya that," he added.

"Too late," a voice said and he cringed. He stood up to see Anya and he smiled.

"I love you, Sis." Anya rolled her eyes and he moved down the line. Ygraine was next and she seemed hesitant to do anything.

"I'm so glad you decided to return," she said.

"I'm sure I'll find Camelot as nice of a home as Sarmatia," he said.

"I'll make sure of it," she teased causing him to chuckle. He didn't even stop to see Uther and went directly to his horse. Ygraine looked over to her husband who had a look of rejection on his face.

The Sarmatian party mounted their horses and with a signal from the guards, they began their journey home. Ygraine watched as Artorius looked back a final time before heading out of the courtyard. She walked over to Uther and gave him a smile of encouragement. "Spring will be here before you know it, my dear. You'll see." All Uther could nod and she let out a mournful sigh. This was going to be a long winter.

THE END

To Be Continued in The Lost Prince Returns


End file.
